(Photo/Operation Red Nose)

By Angela Brown

Keeping roads safe

Battlefords Operation Red Nose sees another busy season

Jan 3, 2024 | 1:00 PM

Battlefords Operation Red Nose had a successful campaign, ensuring the roads were safe during the holiday season.

Concern for Youth executive director Linda Coe-Kirkham was the lead administrator for the local Operation Red Nose program for 2023.

Battlefords Concern for Youth board members volunteered to look after the campaign. This was the first year Concern for Youth took on the project.

“Operation Red Nose was very successful for our first year,” Coe-Kirkham said. “Our small but mighty group of 12 volunteers took 119 calls over 12 evenings we operated, getting a total of 293 people safely home from holiday festivities. The total donations topped $6,000, which will certainly assist Concern for Youth with programming in 2024.”

As part of the initiative, Operation Red Nose volunteer members drive a client home in the volunteers’ vehicle. Then, another volunteer follows in the driver’s vehicle, so both the driver and their vehicle get home safely.

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Vehicles were donated for the program, and several businesses offered their support as well.

Compared to the 2022 season, Coe-Kirkham said numbers were significantly down on New Year’s Eve for those who used the service, by about two-thirds.

“We attribute this to 2023 falling on a Sunday [for New Year’s Eve],” she said. “There were] fewer organized celebrations.”

In 2022 New Year’s Eve fell on a Saturday, resulting in over 30 calls requesting the service, compared to just 12 for New Year’s Eve in 2023.

The busiest weekend for the Battlefords Operation Red Nose was Dec. 15 and 16.

“Some very responsible business owners had us on-call. There were over 35 calls, and just short of 100 people driven home,” Coe-Kirkham said.

In planning for the 2024 program, she noted the crew will start preparing earlier to raise more donations to cover fuel costs, snacks for volunteers, and print advertising to help with the campaign.

“[We’re] looking forward to taking on the task next year,” Coe-Kirkham said.

Nationally, Operation Red Nose reported in a media release it celebrated its 40th annual campaign in Canada and its 15th annual campaign in Saskatchewan, “highlighting the exceptional contribution of thousands of volunteers and the motorists who used its service across the country.”

The campaign covered 80 communities across Canada, from Nov. 24 to Dec. 31.

A total of 27,920 volunteers participated, offering 30,761 rides in communities throughout Canada. In Saskatchewan, 347 volunteers took part, providing a total of 384 safe rides home.

“These figures testify to the scale and importance of Operation Red Nose in boosting road safety during the holiday season,” the organization said.

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angela.brown@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @battlefordsNOW