Operation Red Nose organizers say more people using the service

The executive director of St. John Ambulance in northwestern Ontario says more and more people are taking advantage of the yearly Operation Red Nose service in Thunder Bay.

The program, which runs during the holiday season, is being offered for the seventh year in the city.

When the first Operation Red Nose was offered in 2009, Diana Sustawenko said volunteers gave just over 200 rides. That number about tripled last year.

"We're hoping that the community will really use the service again, we find every year that it's picking up," she said.

Organizers are hoping between 800 and 1,000 rides are given this year, she added.

St. John Ambulance coordinates the service in Thunder Bay, which allows people to call for rides free of charge. Volunteers are dispatched to give the person who called a ride in the caller's own vehicle.

Sustawenko said it's designed to keep the roads safer during the holidays by discouraging drunk driving.

"St. John Ambulance has always been in the business of saving lives at work, home and play and we just thought Operation Red Nose would be a really good fit for us," she said.

"The mission of Operation Red Nose is to encourage responsible driving over the holiday season," she added.

Looking for volunteers

Representatives from St. John Ambulance, along with police, the province, and sponsoring companies officially launched this year's program Thursday in Thunder Bay.

Sustawenko said they're putting the call out for volunteers to sign up, noting that the program can't run without them.

"The volunteers are key to this program," she said. "Every night we need at least 12 to 15 teams [consisting of three people] going out on the road, so you can see how imperative it is to have the volunteers to run this campaign."

This year, the service will start during the last week of November, and run every Thursday, Friday and Saturday in December, excluding Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.