If you’re heading out tonight for New Year’s Eve parties or to the pubs, it’s the last night to catch a ride with Operation Red Nose.
Since Dec. 1, dozens of volunteers with the non-profit group — which operates out of the Coquitlam ICBC claims centre — have offered 370 rides home to revellers over seven nights.
And a total of $14,263 in donations has been raised so far this month, a little lower than in past years, said organizer Chris Wilson, a Coquitlam city councillor.
Proceeds from the rides go to KidSport Tri-Cities to help families pay for sports registrations for their children (that organization is also run by Wilson).
Here’s how the service works: Party-goers call the Operation Red Nose headquarters at 778-866-6673 — between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. — to be collected from a location in the Tri-Cities, New Westminster or Burnaby.
When the team of three volunteers arrives, the driver and navigator sit in the front of the caller’s vehicle with the revellers in the back; an escort driver follows in his or her own car.
Sponsored in part by The Tri-City News, Operation Red Nose operates across Canada and sees thousands of people get home safe during the holidays.
Last year, more than $1.9 million was raised for Canadian amateur sport programs through Operation Red Nose.
Visit operationrednosetricities.com.
