UPDATE (5:15 p.m.) — As of 5:15 p.m. all ducks have been adopted.
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Time is running out to adopt your ducks for the 35th Annual Duck Race benefitting the Center for Prevention of Abuse in Peoria.
As of 4 p.m. Friday, the Duck Race was only 125 ducks away from selling out. This means the fundraiser is at more than 99% of its total goal with just under 24 hours before the race time. The Center for Prevention of Abuse set a goal of 35,000 ducks for 35 years.
“Last night when I went to bed, it was about 1,000 [left]. So we’re making really nice steady progress. People are buying five and six ducks at a time and it all adds up,” said Carol Merna, CEO of Center for Prevention of Abuse.
100 percent of the proceeds, a record $230,000 according to Merna, will benefit the Center for Prevention of Abuse, which provides services to survivors of sexual abuse, domestic violence and human trafficking.
“It’s marvelous how the Central Illinois community really turns out, and we really sell ducks all over the country because we have staff that have family and friends in faraway places. And it really is heartwarming… It makes my heart full to see everybody just really make a commitment. We had a lot of new people that have never bought ducks before buy ducks this year,” said Merna.
That community support also extends to tagging the ducks. More than 200 volunteers showed up to tag ducks on Wednesday, twice as many as last year, said Merna.
“That was a record…and we were done with 35,000 ducks in a record amount of time…They started after five and they were out of stickers by about 6:15, and then they were cleaned up and leaving the place by 7:00. Amazing… it was a well-oiled machine, so it was really fabulous,” said Merna.
The fun starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Eastside Centre in East Peoria with food trucks, live music and kids’ activities. The race itself is at 1 p.m., with 35,000 ducks going down a nearly 1,000 foot waterslide. The first 15 ducks to cross the finish line win a prize, including $10,000 for first place.
Ducks are $5 each and can be adopted on the Duck Race’s website.
“We also want to thank everyone that bought a duck. We are going to sell out and that can only be done with the help of the communities that we serve…the support should never be questioned because people are so strong in their commitment to our mission of helping all people be free from violence,” said Merna.
Last year’s sold out race raised $200,000 for the Center for Prevention of Abuse.
