
The Prince Albert Lions Club completed another successful Operation Red Nose campaign in 2024 with the final night on New Year’s Eve.
Randy Braaten of the Lions Club explained that the numbers were similar to 2023.
“It was about on par with last year,” he said. “The numbers look lower, but we did have two fewer nights. I ran the averages and you look at it on a per day thing, we’re actually up slightly on a daily basis.”
In its 12th year in Prince Albert and area, Operation Red Nose delivered 347 people safely home with their vehicles over the holiday season. That’s a slight decrease from 2023, when 377 people used the service.
Total numbers were a bit lower this year as Operation Red Nose operated two fewer days, but on average there was a slight increase in per day use. Operating over nine nights, 148 rides were provided to people that felt it was safer to have someone chauffer them home. ORN operated 11 nights in 2023, and provided 170 rides.
Braaten said they decided not to run on the final weekend between Christmas and New Year’s Eve because they found it too slow in previous years.
He explained that it ran for less nights because of previous experience.
“We were getting pretty rundown by then too,” he added. “I think we needed a break.”
This year, 24 volunteers devoted more than 611 hours (850 in 2023) during the season to keep the city streets safer. The volunteers drove 2,267 kilometers.(2,555 in 2023) delivering people and their vehicles home.
“We had our core group of volunteers out … and we had a few new ones, but that’s one of the things we really need. We need some more volunteers to come out and give us a hand to make it through the thing,” Braaten explained. “If we get more volunteers, we can get to more people.”
He said 24 volunteers is good, but they’d prefer at least 28.
Thankfully, the weather cooperated this year for Operation Red Nose.
“We only had that one cold night on the Nov. 29 or around there (where) it hit–30 C. Other than that, we’re lucky it didn’t get to temperatures like it is today,” Braaten said.
This year $4,200 ($3,582 in 2023) was donated by residents who used Operation Red Nose. Those funds will be donated to elementary schools in Prince Albert and area to assist with youth programs. Braaten said they are expecting more funds once final calculations are completed.
“Some of the corporations were going to send in money later,” he explained. “We did pickups from their Christmas party and they’d just ask us ‘how many pickups did you do, and we’ll send you a donation.’ We’re still waiting for some of that to come in.”
The Prince Albert Lions Club and Operation Red Nose thanked the volunteers and especially the local businesses that assisted in sponsoring the program.
Braaten also thanked the many businesses who helped Operation Red Nose operate for another year. The list includes local car dealers that provided their shuttles to use as escort vehicles, pizza places that provided food to keep the volunteers well fed, donut shops that provided coffee and donuts to keep them awake, and a hotel that provided the operation with a headquarters. Businesses also provided printing services for posters and business cards and media helped advertise the program. Other businesses provided cash donations to assist with program expenses. Braaten said it would be difficult to keep Operation Red Nose going without that support.
“It went really well,” he said. “All the people we drove home were really appreciative of the service and lots of people keep asking us to do it year round. I said ‘yeah, good luck with that.’ Some of the other cities, actually do Thursday, Friday, Saturday, but I think that would be stretching us a little bit too thin.”
According to Operation Red Nose’s Saskatchewan numbers, 337 volunteers participated in this holiday tradition, providing 458 safe rides. Compared to the previous edition, the 2024 campaign stands out with an increase in the average number of rides provided per operation night and the average number of volunteers mobilized each evening.