By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Big Brothers Big Sisters Ellis County's annual Duck Derby fundraiser is set to return this year on Wednesday, once again filling the Hays Aquatic Park, 300 Main, with plastic ducks for a good cause.
Festivities are set to begin at 5:30 p.m.
"We have over 5,000 ducks that we have numbered, and when people adopt ducks, they are assigned numbers, and then we take these ducks to the Hays Aquatic Park...and we will dump them down the slide," said Jennie Bates, Big Brothers Big Sisters Northwest Kansas executive director.
From there, the ducks will race around the lazy river, she said.
Two heats of the ducks with a championship race to determine the winners.
"The first ten ducks that come around into our catcher that we have, are our winners," Bates said.
The grand prize has been a vehicle in previous years, but with the shortage of supply, this year, $10,000 has been substituted, provided by event sponsors.
Ducks can be purchased online, the Big Brothers Big Sisters office located in the Chesnut Building, 1200 Main, or at Bank of Hays, 1000 West 27th, Eagle Radio, 2300 Hall, Hays Hobby Shop, 1905 General Custer and the Chelsy Proehl Farmers Insurance Agency, 1012 Main.
Ducks are $5 each individually, 6 for $25, 12 for $50 and 25 for $100.
Along with the Duck Derby, a separate event for children the Duck Dash features youth-themed prizes.
"We give away about 30 prizes for the Duck Dash," Bates said, including the grand prize of a six-hour inflatable rental.
Ducks for the Dash are $2 each and children will be able to take a duck with them.
"It's pretty amazing to see it all go on," Bates said.
And about 10 boats will also be participating in the Sink of Sail Cardboard Regatta, she said, named after last year's winner, the High Plains Baptist Church.
During that event, groups will race boats for one or two people made from cardboard and duck tape.
"It's a lot of fun to watch those," Bates said. "And it's a race. It's to see who is going to be the fastest and win the naming rights for next year's race."
While the event itself is a fun way for the community to gather together, the Duck Derby is a primary way Big Brothers Big Sisters receives operating funds for the year, sustaining the organization's work to connect children with adults in a positive way.
"Big Brothers Big Sisters is a mentoring organization," Bates said.
As a non-profit, the groups work to connect children with adult mentors.
"We match children in our community who are needing some extra support, who are facing different kinds of adversities in their lives, and we pair them with an adult mentor that meets with them one-on-one two to four times a month," Bates said.
In Ellis County, there are currently 135 matches, she said.
"We have to do events and fundraisers to help support the program," Bates said. "The Duck Derby helps do that."
And the mission is ongoing.
"We always have a need for volunteers," Bates said. "Right now, we have about 30 kids who are needing a volunteer here in Ellis County, most of them being little brothers. So, we definitely have a need for male volunteers."
She said children could also be matched with a couple or a family.
But she said without events like the Duck Derby and the support from the community, the organization would not be able to make those connections.
"It's amazing how much Big Brothers Big Sisters is supported through this," she said.