Red Nose rides start Friday

By Katie Coleman

BELLEVILLE – Operation Red Nose is making sure holiday revellers get home safely starting this Friday.

Operation Red Nose is a volunteer-run organization that takes calls from partygoers who are unable to drive themselves home. The volunteers drive the caller home in the caller’s car.

Red Nose’s first year of operation in Belleville was 1997; during that holiday season over 500 people were driven home. Last year, 335 volunteers drove 1,782 clients over 32,117 kilometres.

This year the program runs through Dec. 31.

Operation Red Nose accepts donations, and all of the money raised goes to the Belleville YMCA Strong Kids program and Camp Trillium, a camp for children with cancer. In 2013 $40,420 was raised.

QNet News will be at the Red Nose headquarters on Friday night starting at 8 p.m. to see how it all works. Follow @K_E_Coleman on Twitter for updates.

If you wish to use the Operation Red Nose service, call 613-962-4334.