On August 24th, Quacky the Duck will host the 20th annual Duck Race benefitting The Center for Prevention of Abuse. Festivities will begin at noon with face painting and carnival games, and the ducks will start swimming at 3pm.
The Center for Prevention of Abuse urges community members to join in the fun at the marina in front of Old Chicago as Quacky and 15,000 of his feathered friends fight the current of the Illinois River in a race for 
great prizes. This year’s winners have the chance to take home a Chevy Cobalt donated by Jim McComb Chevrolet, a 50” Plasma HDTV with Bose sound system from Sherman’s, and three nights at a luxury Las Vegas hotel with roundtrip airfare from Peoria to Vegas for two, courtesy of Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino and Southwest Airlines. If these prizes aren’t incentive enough, surely the chance to raise money for a great cause will be!
The Center for Prevention of Abuse is the only agency in Illinois to provide combined services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or abuse, and elder abuse. By serving 15 new people who have been affected by violence each day, in addition to 15,000 students who are at risk each year, the Center works to achieve its vision of building a safe, peaceful community.
Entry forms will be available in early July at the Center for Prevention of Abuse, area sponsor locations and at the Erin Feis festival. Each sponsored duck helps to carry out the Center’s mission by providing services such as body safety programming for area students and medical advocates in area hospitals, in addition to providing a safe place to which families can come after fleeing violent homes.
Executive Director Martha Herm said, “We rely upon the proceeds of this event to support the work we do throughout central Illinois to bring help and hope to those living in violence.” Join Ducky in the race at the Riverfront and help our community prosper! a&s
