Operation Red Nose Cold Lake is getting ready to keep the roads safe for another holiday season.
This is the first year the Cold Lake Agricultural Society will be spearheading the initiative, after taking over from the Cold Lake Victim Services Unit (VSU) who ran the program for eight years.
“We figured we’re a large enough society that we could handle the extra work that’s involved with it,” explained Dustin Foulds, head coordinator for Operation Red Nose Cold Lake and ag society president. “It’s a lot of extra hours that nobody will see and nobody really knows about. We have staff that’s available, they volunteer and they have helped with this process. A lot of our board didn’t want to see this program leave our area because it has been so beneficial to the community itself.”
During the holidays, Operation Red Nose provides a safe ride home for residents who are under the influence and aren’t fit to drive. Three volunteers are dispatched after receiving a call. A driver gives you and your passengers a lift home in your vehicle, while an escort vehicle follows.
Along with Nov. 29 and 30, Operation Red Nose runs throughout December. This year, volunteers will be offering rides within the City of Cold Lake from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, as well as on New Year’s Eve.
Foulds described the initiative as “a very unique service to the community.”
“It’s the only organization that I know of where volunteers will drive people home with their vehicles. There are teams of three that come and pick-up the client,” he continued.
The program is completely free, however, donations will be accepted for the ag society.
Foulds believes an important aspect of the program is ensuring people arrive home safe after a night out.
“I know when VSU was running it, they were able to see a drop in impaired charges, and impaired drivers aren’t on the roads as much because of it. It just helps keep the community a little bit safer.”
Since the national program came to Cold Lake, the number of impaired operation charges have seen a drop during the time Operation Red Nose operated. Last year alone, only two charges were laid, while the previous year had four.
Before taking over as head coordinator, Foulds was a volunteer for six seasons and encourages anyone interested to reach out if they have any questions.
“Basically, you get to help bring people home and help them make better decisions. You get to meet a lot of new people… and it’s just more or less a good situation to be able to talk to people and meet them. It’s a lot of fun that way,” he said.
Foulds is hoping to have around 60 volunteers this year. Each night will have roughly five teams of three, and two dispatchers manning the phone lines.
“If we get a little bit more then we might be able to broaden where we can go,” he explained.
For more information, or to get involved, call 780-812-5880, email [email protected], or visit coldlakeag.com/orn.
