The Kinsmen Safe Ride program is at it’s busiest over the holidays, offering transport home for party-goers from company Christmas parties, weddings, and more.
The program is a staple of the Moose Jaw Kinsmen Club and has grown so popular that for the first time this year, the service group has officially teamed up with the Moose Jaw Kinettes Club to handle the amount of requests they’ve received.
“It was such a busy program that we were struggling to meet the demands of the community with our one club, so putting the two clubs together seemed to be a good fit,” said Allen Proust, member of the Kinsmen and the Safe Ride committee. “This way, we have two pools of people to pull from for the Safe Ride driving service and bartending, which we do as well.”
Safe Ride is available to book for specific events for a fee, and the Kinsmen and Kinettes will provide two drivers and a van of their own to ensure that party-goers — and their vehicles, if desired — make it home safely at the end of the night.
The service is exclusive, meaning the volunteers will only be offering rides to the hired event’s guests and will stay at the party until their services are no longer needed.
“We try not to step on the toes of the taxi drivers and the guys that are in the business of doing a ride to and from a destination,” said Proust. “We try to do our own entity of staying at the party, like we were hired to do.”
The end of the night can get busy, so Proust offered some advice to party-goers to make things a bit easier.
“Some people plan ahead and will get picked up by a coworker and then they have less vehicles at that party, which makes our job a little easier at the end of the night,” said Proust.
Volunteers work on tips from those who utilize the service, and all the funds raised will remain in the community to fund local programs and functions that the Kinsmen and Kinettes operate in Moose Jaw.
“It's to kind of support the groups and functions that we fund in the community, so all the money stays local, that we make off the project,” said Proust.
The Safe Ride program is highlighted most during the holidays, but the program is actually available from September to June, and occasionally by demand through the summer.
The Kinsmen continue the program each year largely for the benefit of the community, and to get out into the community in a good way.
“It's not a real big moneymaker, but it's more a good community service that gets a lot of recognition for what it is,” said Proust.
The groups have eight vans rented for the holidays and are still open to bookings. Those interested in having the Kinsmen Safe Ride service at their party can email [email protected] to inquire about availability, or contact Allen Proust at 1 (306) 630-3022.
