Fowl Fun: Duck Derby Coming to St. Charles

Thousands of yellow rubber ducks will fall like rain from the Illinois Street Bridge over the Fox River in St. Charles in June as part of a fundraiser to benefit local students.

The “Ducky Derby” is scheduled at 5 p.m. Sunday, June 9, during St. Charles' RiverFest, and is an event being promoted by the St. Charles Noon Rotary Club and St. Charles Community Unit School District 303. Organizers hope to make the Ducky Derby an annual fundraiser.

The event has been several months in the planning by Noon Rotarians, District 303 educators and students.

Racing rights to each of the numbered ducks will be sold for $5. Then, several thousand bright yellow ducks will be dropped into the Fox River, beginning a ace toward the finish line. Typically in such derbies, prizes are awarded to the race’s top finishing ducks.

Proceeds from the Ducky Derby will benefit Rotary Scholarships and the HOPE clubs at St. Charles North and St. Charles East high schools, supporting issues surrounding social and emotional health to help support our community efforts to prevent suicides, bullying, self injury, drug prevention and other mental health issues.

Sales of “Ducky Derby” ducks together with community sponsorships, support District 303's efforts to focus on mental health issues throughout the district.

Depending on the level of sponsorship, sponsors will have their logos displayed during the event on banners and on yellow T-shirts the students will wear; each sponsor also will receive a number of promotional racing ducks which can be given away to clients.

Local interested companies can contact Ducky Derby Chair Sandy Shelby for more sponsorship and prizes information at stcduckyderby@gmail.com.

Both St. Charles North and St. Charles East students are selling ducks for this race and are competing for scholarships to be awarded to those top students sellers who sell the greatest number of ducks.

SOURCE: St. Charles Rotary

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