Here’s the good news: More people planned ahead to get home safely during the holidays last month and in November.
And the bad news: That meant fewer pick-ups — and donations — for Operation Red Nose (ORN) in the Tri-Cities, New Westminster and Burnaby.
Volunteers with the safe ride home program, which is supported in part by The Tri-City News, shuttled 473 times during the nine nights ORN operated, translating into $16,177 in client contributions for KidSport Tri-Cities, said ORN organizer and KidSport executive director Chris Wilson.
The average donation per ride is $34.
Still, the overall total is down about $4,000 from 2016, meaning fewer funds available to help families in financial need register their kids for sports teams.
Wilson guessed clients are catching safe rides elsewhere or hopping on the Evergreen Extension, which has been running to Coquitlam Town Centre for more than a year.
Either way, Wilson said revellers realize there’s a no-tolerance policy for impaired driving, with ICBC’s CounterAttack stepped up during the Christmas rush.
(On average, 65 people die each year in crashes involving impaired drivers in B.C. and most happen between the hours of 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.)
“I generally think that people are doing the right thing and making plans to get home safe,” said Wilson, who is also a Coquitlam city councillor.
Coquitlam RCMP Cpl. Michael McLaughlin, who helped to launch the 2017 ORN program, said the detachment is “really supportive of options to get home safely and we appreciate the efforts of the volunteers.”
Recruiting volunteers was a major challenge in November and December because of the way the schedule landed, Wilson said. With New Year’s Eve on a Sunday and only three days open for volunteers to complete their criminal record check in the final week, volunteers were hard to come by on Dec. 31.
Later this month, Wilson said he plans to survey volunteers about their experiences and reach out to past volunteers to find out why they didn’t return for shifts.
New for ORN 2017 was sponsorship from Coquitlam Centre, which gave volunteers a chance to win one of three $50 gift cards per night. “Our goal is to keep the volunteers happy and coming back as we offer lifts for events throughout the year.”
