Rubber duck race raising funds for Ronald McDonald House

Thousands of rubber ducks will race down the river on August 19th in an effort to raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House.

Two Central Alberta women have come together to organize the event with the help of a friend of theirs who lives in Halifax but is supportive of the quest, including contributing funds for the grand prize, donating 6 Canada 150 shirts for the volunteers, and helping with advertising for the event.

Kristin Heneghan said the help from their east-coast friend has been incredible, and the local community has come together as well with some prizes including some from Riverbend Golf and Country Club, an independent Shaklee distributor and a VOXX Socks distributor.

The goal of the event, said Heneghan, is to donate nearly $4200 to the Ronald McDonald House. Ducks cost just $2 to sponsor and will be released on the river in the Burbank Campground just outside of Blackfalds.

People sponsoring ducks do not need to be present at the race in order to win, but the public is more than welcome to come and watch the rubber ducks being released.

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Heneghan said both her and her co-organizer Jocelyn Sonnenberg have had friends who have utilized the RMH, making their decision to do a fundraiser for the organization that much easier.

“[Ronald McDonald House] made such a difference for [our friends] when their children were in the hospital. It has been a charity that we love and support as much as we can,” said Heneghan.

When asked why race rubber ducks, Heneghan said because it’s fun for the whole family and something that everyone can take part in. “What’s more fun than rubber ducks?”

Heneghan is from Stettler and Sonnenberg from Leduc, and together they’ve chosen Red Deer and area for this event as a way to reach a larger population more directly adjacent to the RMH Central Alberta location.

In total there are 3040 ducks to be sponsored, and Heneghan said they have a number of volunteers to help release and recover the ducks, but more volunteers are welcome.

“All of the ducks are numbered with water proof sharpie. We can see which number duck will cross the line and refer to our spread sheet to see who sponsored that duck,” she added while explaining how the race will work start to finish.

The approximate launch time for the ducks is 12 p.m. on August 19th. If people plan to go to watch, Heneghan simply said to let them know through the event Facebook page or by email at kristin@kristinheneghan.com or jocelyn@jocelynsonnenberg.com