For Jayson Oldham, associate pastor at Ladner Baptist Church, the light bulb went off in a clear and concise way on a problem he was interested in solving.
"Our church was thinking of ways we could service the community to show our care and love in a tangible way," he said.
The answer came to him as a result of conversations with friends.
"Why recreate the wheel and try to do something new when Operation Red Nose has been servicing the community in such an effective way. We just needed to jump on the bandwagon and be pro-active in our community."
It didn't take long for 25 church members to step up and join this national safe driving campaign.
"It was such a relief to hear they were helping out as our service has become so popular that our need for volunteers is greater than ever," said Carlene Lewall, co-ordinator of Operation Red Nose Delta-Richmond.
Lewall said the next two Saturdays as well as New Year's Eve will be high in bookings but short of volunteers, so the public is being asked to give volunteering a try this year. Ladner Baptist Church volunteers range in age from the early 20s to the late 70s and will be working in teams of three: one to drive the client and their vehicle back home, a navigator to help them find their way and an escort driver that follows the client's car.
The night begins at 8 p.m. with training at Delta Gymnastics Society, the host organization in Ladner. At 9 p.m., volunteers are sent to various pubs and Christmas parties to raise awareness in the community about the service. "Calls begin to pour in starting at 10 p.m. and they keep coming strong until 3 a.m.," said Lewall.
For the last 11 seasons of Operation Red Nose, the Delta-Richmond campaign has provided almost 4,700 rides to people and their vehicles.
With an average of three people per vehicle, it equates to about 14,000 people benefiting from the program.
"We encourage other groups to come forward and support this incredible campaign," said Oldham. "We hesitated last year and by the time we were ready it was too late."
All volunteers are required to complete a free criminal record check, which, Lewall said, the Delta police do an amazing job of processing quickly.
If you are curious about getting involved with the program, visit www.operationrednosedelta.com, email clewall@deltagymnastics. com or call 604-943-0460.
The remaining nights of Operation Red Nose are Dec. 13, 14, 20, 21 and New Year's Eve.
