Day 18: Saint Patrick's Day Designated Driver

By Laura Carpenter

For Day 18 of 30 Days of Kindness, we provided free designated driver transportation to people celebrating Saint Patty's Day.

St. Paddy's Day means heavy traffic at the bars for a Northeast college town like Oneonta, NY. We figured this holiday would be the perfect time to give the Designated Driver AoK our first try. Originally, we had planned to go out on Sunday night, the 17^th, but one of our friends tipped us off that, since St. Paddy's Day falls on a Sunday, more people would be celebrating on Saturday night.

Therefore, we made a quick change of plans and penciled it in for Saturday evening. This meant that on Saturday, we hosted the SkyanI show, took a little break/nap, then headed downtown around 11pm. We brought along our trusty chalkboard sign, wrote on it “Free Ride, No Drink & Drive," parked our car right off Water Street next to the entrances of three bars, and then waited for the people to come rolling in.

I was a bit tired at this point, and it was pretty cold that night, so I spent the evening sitting in the heat of the car. However, Kaler stood outside by the sign and chatted with the crowds. The crowds were young, loud, and very receptive. All night long Kaler was complemented for providing free rides. He was told things like, “Man, that is the most awesome thing I've ever seen!” and, “This is great!” Kaler explained that this was a free service to show God's love, yet several people (many who did not need a ride) insisted that he take a donation. We ended the night with a little money to put back into the AoK fund. 

People were so supportive that, if anybody showed a lack of support, then others would rally to Kaler's defense. The only person objecting to our presence was a drunk guy who walked over, took a good long look at our sign, and then felt the need to kick it down. Everyone around was shocked at his rudeness. A bouncer from one of the bars came out and asked Kaler to point out which guy did the dastardly deed. All in all, we felt like we were in a safe place; we even felt like our little church was accepted by Oneonta's downtown crowd.

Slowly but surely, people began to approach the car for rides. Most were students ready to head back to campus. It hadn't occurred to me before just how many students make the two mile walk in the middle of the cold night back to campus. As we drove, we saw several groups of students plodding along Oneonta's streets trying to get home. The students who caught us for a ride were extremely appreciative. As we drove them home, we talked about the church and various other things. Students had many questions for us and our conversations were meaningful. Most students were a little buzzed, but not slobbering drunk. Several seemed entirely sober and were just looking for a warm ride. They talked to us about Christian fiction books they had read, their objections to Christianity, and their views about Oneonta's student housing. A few said they would check out our church.

Kaler and I really enjoyed this AoK. For years now we have tried connecting with bar-goers, but to no avail. This AoK hit the nail on the head as far as providing us with a way to connect with people at the bars. In two hours we were able to meet a dozen bar hoppers and communicate God's love to them. We care for them. We care for the safety of our community. And we want to do what we can to make the roads safer. We loved doing the free designated driver and we look forward to doing it again!