With gas prices spiking to 147.9 this week, it's no wonder Operation Red Nose Sudbury founding president Lesli Green is looking for new sources of funding for her organization.
Since its inception in 1999, Operation Red Nose Sudbury has been providing safe rides home to people during the holiday season.
One volunteer drives the client and their vehicle home, while another volunteer follows behind in another vehicle.
Over the past five years, the popular service has given 7,426 rides to 40,000 people. Two thousand three hundred Operation Red Nose Sudbury volunteers have driven 215,974 kilometres.
But the program's success is a “double-edged sword,” Green said.
The organization provides volunteers with money to cover their gas bills. But given current gas prices, it's becoming difficult for Operation Red Nose Sudbury to find enough cash, she said.
Green said the program already has wonderful, committed corporate sponsors that defray Operation Red Nose Sudbury's costs.
“But you know, you can't keep going back to your existing sponsors and asking for more,” she said.
That's why she's appealing to the business community to step up and become sponsors of the program.
“We do need help from this community in order to move ahead,” Green said.
Those interested in learning more about becoming corporate sponsors are asked to email Green at [email protected].
Did you know?
Beyond providing rides to holiday revellers, Operation Red Nose Sudbury also provides impaired driving education. It partners with Greater Sudbury Police to hand out Tim Hortons gift cards to sober drivers at RIDE checks.
