Operation Red Nose provides safe rides for people who had something to drink most Friday and Saturday nights from the last weekend of November until New Year's Eve. Bawn Campbell had been involved last year's initiative and is hoping that volunteers will step forward to help out again. He said, "Last year, we had an average of two to three rides every night. That wasn't an overwhelming response but our percentage was higher than that of the North Shore."
Last Christmas season, the campaign ran on Bowen Island for the first time and, this past month, people have approached Campbell to see if it will happen again. He said, "Sometime in early October, we said, 'Lets go for it.' But that's a late start and we are slow for getting volunteers." Campbell explained that eight people (two dispatchers and two teams of three) need to be on call for every night of the program. Because ICBC is covering the insurance, volunteers need to submit to a criminal record check that can take anywhere from two to four weeks. With a start date of November 25, that doesn't leave much time.
But Campbell stressed that it was a lot of fun last year. He said, "The Snug will be our headquarters again. We often brought musical instruments and the restaurants donated food and tea and coffee." He added that many Red Nose volunteers decided to become Rotarians and stay involved. Campbell said, "When someone decides to contact Red Nose, the call comes into the ICBC headquarters. If the person or party is on Bowen Island or coming to Bowen Island, they call us and give us the contact number. We call them and ask where they are and where they need to go."
Then a team of three people (a driver, an escort driver and a navigator) get into the car and go to the pick-up location, Campbell says. Once they are there, they check to see whether it is safe to drive. If there is snow, they make sure, the vehicle has snow tiers. The driver and navigator will drive the car of the person who has called. They can take up to two people home but, if the party is larger, will have to take more than one trip as the escort car is not allowed to take passengers. On the application form, people are asked to specify whether they are interested to participate as a dispatcher, driver or navigator.
"It's a free service that's intended to get people off the road when they had too much to drink," Campbell said. "We drop them off at their residence. When they wake up, they are home, their car is there and they have the keys. The idea is to help the community."
Campbell says that some parents use it to set a positive example for their kids. "It is a good alternative," he said. "Judge Judi [Gedye] came to talk to us at West Van and made the point that the charge for drunk driving is about $8000-12,000. It makes a lot of sense that, when you drink, you can get home safely."
Last year, Bowen's Red Nose group raised around $2,500 from sponsors, Campbell says, and the money will be used for an outdoor school. He explained that the people who were driven home often wanted to give a donation. "That money, as with all the Rotary programs, is going to youth initiatives. In this case, we will help to build the outdoor school that is planned for somewhere near BICS. It will be a classroom in nature and be open to all Bowen students."
Campbell also wanted to challenge local businesses and groups. He said, "In Vancouver, it is common that businesses, churches, schools and other community organizations send teams to participate." Please contact Wendy and Dai Roberts at 604-947-0223 and [email protected] or pick up a form at the Snug if you are interested in joining Bowen's Red Nose team.
