Sleighful of donations keeps Operation Red Nose Winnipeg running for upcoming holiday season

The generosity of Winnipeggers and some provincial Crown corporations has ensured a nearly three-decade-old volunteer program will continue to operate during the upcoming holiday season.

Operation Red Nose Winnipeg announced Thursday that last month's call for donations means the free, designated driver program will be back for a 28th season when it launches on Nov. 15.

The program has said it was short about $100,000, and while Elisha Dacey, the organization's volunteer media liaison, isn't sure how close they are to reaching that goal, she says it's very close.

"People have come through with some cash donations. We had a couple of businesses offer to do some donation matching, and we've had some in-kind donations as well," she said.

Additional funding from host sponsor Safety Services Manitoba, as well as two other provincial Crown corporations — Manitoba Public Insurance and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries — and local sponsors provided the biggest boosts, Dacey added.

Red Nose offers free rides since it can't charge a fee due to the city's taxi policies.

Donations are accepted for rides, but that money goes to Red Nose's partner charity, which had been the Manta Swim Club since the mid-1990s.

The club provided volunteers to help keep Red Nose running. But it said its revenues from Red Nose had declined over the years, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to find volunteers willing to drive late nights.

Red Nose has partnered with a new organization founded this year, the Winnipeg Kids Foundation, which will receive all donations Red Nose volunteer drivers receive.

The biggest challenge now is attracting those volunteer drivers, Dacey says.

"That's always the trickiest part … because of the changeover from Manta basically we are starting from scratch when it comes to volunteers," said Dacey, who has occasionally volunteered as a driver herself for the past few years.

"You get to meet some very cool Winnipeggers and everyone's always been kind, and we've just had a lot of fun," Dacey said.

The service will operate for every Friday and Saturday night from Nov. 29 to Dec. 28, as well as New Year's Eve for  a total of 11 nights. Volunteers can sign up on the Operation Red Nose website.