Long-running Operation Red Nose ride service may stay parked this holiday season in Winnipeg
Red Nose needs to raise $100K by mid-November or else program will be in jeopardy: media liaison
A program that offers Winnipeggers safe rides home during the holiday season may not have enough money to operate come December, organizers say.
Operation Red Nose — a free service that has aims to curb drinking and driving by having volunteer drivers pick up Winnipeggers and take them home in their own vehicle — lost its long-time charity partner, Manta Swim Club, earlier this year.
This upcoming season, the program was set to run Fridays and Saturdays starting Nov. 29, as well as on New Year's Eve.
But volunteer media liaison Elisha Dacey said those plans may be in jeopardy unless the service gets a big cash injection.
"When the old charity decided to go, they took a lot of their assets with them," Dacey told Up to Speed host Faith Fundal on Wednesday.
"We need to replace technology — especially our phones, [which] are pretty ancient. Our app needs a serious upgrade, and then, of course, space for the volunteers and all sorts of incidentals," like gas, she said.
Program not financially viable: swim club
Red Nose technically offers rides for free — it can't charge a fee so as not run afoul of the city's taxi policies. Donations are accepted for rides, but all of those donations go to Red Nose's partner charity.
Operation Red Nose has been running in Winnipeg since Manta Swim Club brought the program to the city in 1995, and the club provided volunteers to help keep Red Nose running.
But the swim club 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.
Manta Swim Club director Bo West told CBC the organization notified Red Nose about the decision in March.
West said he wishes Operation Red Nose well, and that he's encouraging members to volunteer even if they don't have an official relationship.
Dacey said that while Red Nose has partnered with a new organization — the Winnipeg Kids Foundation — it's a brand new arrangement with a relatively new group, and there is still a steep learning curve.
"We had to park during the pandemic and the response that we got from people when they found out that we weren't driving, people were pretty sad and upset," she said.
"We really hope that Winnipeg can help us so that we can keep going this year."
With files from Faith Fundal and CBC's Up to Speed