Operation Red Nose will not be operating its Safe Ride Service in Williams Lake and communities across the country for the 2020 holiday season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jean-Philippe Giroux, Executive Director for Operation Red Nose said “The safety of our volunteers, clients, and local host organizations have always been one of our top priorities. The decision was made after long and careful consideration, and not without emotion. In the meantime, we want to remind everyone to always plan ahead for a safe way to get home”.
In November, Operation Red Nose will reveal the details of its 2020 awareness campaign, which will exclude the safe ride service this year.
Dave Dickson reflected on how Operation Red Nose came to be in Williams Lake.
“About 12 years ago Mike Austin, from Mike Austin Financial, was our Rotary President, so I said to him, hey Mike what do you think of this idea about an Operation Red Nose in Williams Lake, and he being a true community-spirited entrepreneur, said, of course, let’s have a look at it. There was a process we had to go through, we had to make applications and that’s how it was started”.
Dickson added that in their first year, there were four organizations that received $400 each from the money Operation Red Nose raised, and in 2018 we gave the Gymnastics Club, the Swim Club, Camp Likely, and the Cariboo Chilcotin Youth Fiddlers $4,000 each.
Even in the absence of the safe ride home service this year, Operation Red Nose will continue to promote its road safety message and remind everyone to always plan for a safe way to get home by calling a friend, a relative, a cab, by designating a sober driver, or by staying overnight.