Red Nose Racking Up the Numbers
By 250 News
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 10:16 AM
Prince George,. B.C.- Operation Red Nose is off and running and the response has been nothing short of phenomenal, “We’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of rides offered” says Andrea Johnson of the Nechako Rotary Club which sponsors the project.
Operation Red Nose sends a team of drivers to a person’s location, two people drive the people home, and another drives their vehicle to the same address.
“We are very confident we will surpass last year’s number of rides which was 796.”
Johnson says the new legislation which allows police to lift a driver’s license and impound a vehicle for at least 3 days, has had an impact. “People just don’t want to take a chance, they would rather give us a call and make sure, they get home safe.”
Last Friday, they had 20 teams out on the road which provided 101 rides. Those teams covered 2,594 km. 71 total volunteers helped out. In 2009 on the same night, 66 rides were provided.
On Saturday, there were 22 teams out which provided an amazing 183 rides – a new record for a non-New Year’s Eve night. In 2009 on the same night, 96 rides were provided. The 22 teams drove 3,982 km.
“We were prepared to deal with the demand. We were ecstatic that five teams from Jordy’s Lounge came out Friday night and helped out. They were more than happy to go out and when they returned at 3 a.m. they still had smiles on their faces. We appreciate their support and we couldn’t have been as successful as we were Friday night without their help. We encourage other businesses to team up and spend a night with us. It’s a great way to do some team building.”
There is still a need for volunteers for New Year’s Eve. Operation Red Nose would like to have another 50 volunteers to deal with the expected demand. Anyone interested is encouraged to fill out a Criminal Record Checks form at the Community Policing office at 575 Brunswick.
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Posted by: curmudgeonscurse on December 14 2010 11:13 AM