Pronghorn Athletics launches 26th Instalment of Operation Red Nose

trevor.kenney — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 17:20:44 +0000

Operation Red Nose (ORN), following a two-year hiatus, will return for its 26th year of community service, reviving the annual holiday drive-home campaign in Lethbridge starting December 2, 2022.

Operation Red Nose is a unique program dedicated to eliminating impaired driving. During the festive holiday season, individuals who have been drinking or who do not feel fit to drive can be driven home in their own vehicle by a team of Red Nose volunteers. There is no fee for the service, but donations to Pronghorn Athletics are accepted.

“Our student-athletes have been direct in asking for us to continue this community service project,” says Neil Langevin, executive director of Pronghorn Athletics. “We are so appreciative of the support we receive from our community, our relationship with Lethbridge Police Service and the assistance from the City of Lethbridge that enables us to provide this service. Local businesses have also always been behind us providing sponsorship, goods in kind or promoting and utilizing ORN, all of which allows us to put it on every year and support our athletes.”

In addition to being a safe driving campaign, Operation Red Nose is a fundraising activity for Pronghorn Athletics, with more than $815,000 raised in support of Pronghorn teams since its inception.

Pronghorn Athletics supplies most volunteers to operate the program over its nine-night run, while community members and ULethbridge staff and faculty members round out the volunteer crew. Volunteers are always needed, especially on New Year's Eve, and those interested can contact orn@uleth.ca to participate.

In 2019, Operation Red Nose provided 868 rides over 10 nights, with the help from more than 569 volunteers. During the 2019 holiday season, Operation Red Nose – Lethbridge collected $21,608.50 in donations from patrons that used the service and another $18,450 in corporate donations for a yearly total of $40,058.50. All proceeds went directly back to Pronghorn teams.

Lethbridge Police Service support is essential for ORN as it provides background checks for all volunteers.

“The Lethbridge Police Service is proud to once again partner with Pronghorn Athletics and applauds the return of Operation Red Nose,” says Deputy Chief Gerald Grobmeier. “We truly appreciate all the organizers and volunteers who give their time during the busy holiday season to help make our roads safer. Impaired driving-related collisions are 100 per cent preventable and we encourage everyone to celebrate responsibly and always find a safe ride home.”

The City of Lethbridge Transit department contributes to ORN by providing the physical space for the command centre throughout the campaign.

As well, Alpine Insurance and Intact are essential partners for the service, providing insurance to the organizing committee.

How it works

Teams of volunteers provide the Operation Red Nose service. An escort driver drives volunteers to pick up clients. A designated driver then drives the client’s vehicle with the client in it, and a navigator rides along in the vehicle completing the necessary paperwork for the trip. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Pronghorn Athletics at orn@uleth.ca or go to http://gohorns.ca to download the volunteer application form.

Sponsors, both financial and through products and services, are key to enabling the program to be offered at no cost. Local businesses have been terrific in providing their support for ORN since its inception. Along with donations, all food and refreshments for volunteers, gas, phone service, and insurance coverage are donated.

*Please note criminal record checks for all volunteers are required and take time to process

Operation Red Nose Lethbridge

Dates of Operation in 2022
December 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 22, 23 & 31
Hours of Operation
9:30 p.m. – 3 a.m.

Operation Red Nose Phone Number: 403-320-4155

Operation Red Nose honours Slavin at launch of 23rd campaign

trevor.kenney — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 21:28:34 +0000

It’s as much a part of Christmas in Lethbridge as sipping eggnog by the fire or Santa filling the stockings. If you’re going to partake in some holiday cheer, having Operation Red Nose (ORN) at your disposal is a true southern Alberta holiday tradition.

Pronghorn Athletics and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge launched the 23rd season of Operation Red Nose on Tuesday and in a special nod to the legacy of the ride home program, Sandy Slavin, former executive director for Sport and Recreation Services, was honoured for her role in helping to establish the campaign in 1995 and growing it over her ensuing 20 years of service.

Marie-Chantal Fortin, left, honours Sandy Slavin for her contributions to the Operation Red Nose campaign in southern Alberta.

“Personally, I think Sandy has had a lot to do with the success of Operation Red Nose because she brought stability to the program when it started here and for two full decades after,” says Marie-Chantal Fortin, Operation Red Nose national development coordinator. “That’s a lot of stability for one community and something we don’t see regularly and I think that allowed the program to grow consistently, strongly, and without having to weather different storms.”

Fortin made a point of coming to Lethbridge personally to present Slavin with a special Operation Red Nose safety vest marking her entry into the ORN Hall of Fame.

“I wasn’t expecting this,” says Slavin. “It’s nice, Red Nose was a big part of what I did and started and I’m very proud of Operation Red Nose in Lethbridge. It’s nice to know that it has been recognized nationally.”

The success of the program is remarkable, having raised more than $690,000 in support of Pronghorn Athletics over the first 22 years of the program, all the while providing thousands of rides home to holiday party-goers. The safety it has brought to local roads cannot be quantified but by providing 1,159 rides home just last year, it puts into perspective how many at risk situations may have been averted.

Slavin says the early years of ORN were frantic and it wasn’t long before she knew the program had staying power in the community.

“It was crazy, we didn’t know anything about what was happening that first year,” she says. “We didn’t have phones that worked until about a half-hour before the service started. So, growing it from there, where I think we provided 150 rides that first year, up into the thousands of rides, was big. It was fun to be a part of seeing it grow here and become an important part of the Lethbridge holiday season.”

Pronghorns women’s basketball player Kacie Bosch grew up in Lethbridge and had an idea what ORN was all about, but it didn’t prepare her for staffing the front lines when she first worked the campaign as an athlete volunteer last year.

“I’d heard it on the radio all the time and on TV commercials but then actually taking part in it – I was answering the phones all night, from 9 p.m. until 3 in the morning and we got so many calls, so many people taking part in it,” she says. “Seeing the support from the community, people who aren’t even with Pronghorn Athletics but who care deeply about this, it really says a lot about southern Alberta.”

This year’s ORN campaign begins service Friday, Nov. 24 and continues every Friday and Saturday evening through Dec. 16 before wrapping up on New Year’s Eve. The service runs from 9:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. each night with users able to call 403-320-4155 to request an ORN team come to their location to transport both them and their car home.

While Pronghorn Athletics provides the bulk of volunteers, more than 620 volunteers were needed to staff last year’s campaign and help is always needed. For those wishing to volunteer, contact Pronghorn Athletics at 403-329-2681 or email orn@uleth.ca.

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Pronghorn Athletics launches 26th Instalment of Operation Red Nose

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