About 70 children in the Tri-Cities will be able to register for sports at no cost this year thanks to client donations collected through the latest Operation Red Nose.
The safe-ride home campaign — which marked its 10th anniversary in 2016 — brought in some $20,000 for KidSport Tri-Cities, organizer Chris Wilson said Tuesday.
But the total is down from previous years because of the heavy snowfall.
The Arctic-like conditions in December meant many people didn't go out. New Year's Eve was particularly slow for the 19 teams helping out with Operation Red Nose, Wilson said. Volunteers gave 90 lifts versus 165 on Dec. 31, 2015. "We were never in a bind with the lack of volunteers we had because the demand just wasn't there," he said. "We met all of our calls and most teams were home by 3:30 or 4 a.m. on New Year's Day."
Wilson wasn't able to say if the new Evergreen Extension also had an impact on the campaign. The rapid-transit link that opened in Coquitlam and Port Moody on Dec. 2 offered free rides into Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey and Vancouver after 5 p.m. Dec. 31.
In total, 210 volunteers drove 16,437 kilometres in the 2016 campaign compared with 25,506 km the previous year — with drop-offs from North Vancouver to White Rock.
Wilson, who is also a Coquitlam city councillor, said Operation Red Nose "is a lot of work to organize and it's not the best fundraiser for the amount that goes into it. It's a huge commitment."
As for the 2017 campaign, Wilson said he wants to reach out to the volunteers to see how the service can be improved. "We have our core group and we have some who are new every year but we are also losing our past volunteers and we want to know why," he said.
Started 33 years ago across Canada, Operation Red Nose runs in all areas of the Lower Mainland except Vancouver. In 2011, the Tri-Cities branch also incorporated Burnaby and New Westminster. Proceeds from the Tri-Cities program go to KidSport, of which Wilson is the executive director.
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
