Operation Red Nose will be back on the streets of Kamloops this holiday season, after it was forced to cancel last year because of COVID-19, but you will have to be vaccinated to use the safe ride home service.

Carolynn Boomer, the Executive Director of PacificSport Interior BC, tells NL News the plan is to operate between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. on 13 nights – Nov. 26 and 27 and Dec. 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 30, and 31.

“It is our 25th campaign and ironically, I was pregnant when I brought Operation Red Nose here to Kamloops and its just been amazing,” she said. “This community has embraced it wholeheartedly and we generally are like number one in the province for rides which I always like to say, well, we’re very responsible.”

If you want a safe ride home though, you will need to be double vaccinated against COVID-19. Organizers say those measures as well as the use of masks for drivers and passengers will help keep staff and clients safe.

Dispatchers will ask the caller if everyone entering the vehicle is double vaccinated. Anyone who isn’t double vaccinated will not be given a lift home.

“If we do arrive to the house or party, you will be required to show the double vaccination and, if you don’t have it, then we’ll be calling a cab or giving you an alternate way to get home safely,” Program Coordinator Elsa Poppleton said, noting the hope is to recruit 250 volunteers this year, a slight increase from the 235 in 2019.

“We are very grateful for volunteers who come out every year and for new volunteers. I encourage anyone who has volunteered in the past or has thought about it to come out and join us this year. It is a fun experience.”

In 2019, Boomer says Operation Red Nose provided over 1,200 rides in Kamloops, raising about $33,000 for PacificSport Interior BC, money which will benefit amateur athletes in the area.

“You have a designated driver who drivers your vehicle home. You have what is called a navigator and they act as the team’s secretary so they are with the designated driver and then you have the third person on the team as an escort driver and they drive their own vehicle behind the client’s vehicle, taking them to the spot where they need to go,” Boomer said.

“That is how the team of three works. We’re really looking for volunteers because the service relies on the dedicated volunteers giving us six hours a night.”

All new volunteers will have to complete the Operation Red Nose volunteer application form and have a police information check completed by the RCMP with a letter confirming the results. Anyone who volunteered in 2019 will only have to complete the application form.

You can also find the volunteer form here, at the Tournament Capital Centre, at Kamloops Sports Council or at Volunteer Kamloops.

For more information, call 250-320-0650 or email kamloops@operationrednose.com.