Service fraternity hosts annual duck race
Tom Stanton, Danny Did Foundation representative, and his grandmother throw rubber ducks into the Kishwaukee River on Sunday for the Alpha Phi Omega 12th Annual Duck Race which helped raise money for the Danny Did Foundation. The Danny Did Foundation is dedicated to help prevent deaths caused by seizures.
April 14, 2013
Ducks of the plastic variety raced down the Kishwaukee River to help a student organization raise money.
Alpha Phi Omega (APO) hosted its 12th Annual Duck Race on Sunday outside the WNIJ radio station building, 801 N. First Street.
All proceeds from the Duck Race are donated to the Danny Did Foundation for epilepsy.
The mission of the Danny Did Foundation is to create awareness of Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) as well as preventing deaths by utilizing seizure detection and prediction devices.
“This is what we are known for,” said Tiffany Hervig, junior hospitality administration major and fundraiser chair of APO. “I like seeing everyone come together to raise money for a good cause. The Danny Did Foundation raises money to get machines that can detect seizures. Some of these devices can be placed inside a car so someone who is driving will have enough time to pull over before they experience a possible seizure.”
APO sold rubber ducks around DeKalb and the Chicagoland area to raise money for the foundation. Each duck was sold for $1 or six ducks for $5.
APO picks and organization to help during all of second semester every year. They raised more than $3,000 for Feed ’em Soup, a local community soup kitchen, last year.
“This is our biggest event of the year,” said junior biology major Yesenia Carabez. “It was very successful and we raised a lot of money.”
The event is not only about the duck race. The fraternity hosts a whole afternoon of family-friendly events like an egg toss, a bouncy house and face painting. Little Ceasers pizza and sodas were available for purchase.
“More people attended the event this year,” said senior sociology major Seana Winner. “We also had our brothers from Champaign [Alpha Alpha chapter] come and help us.”
As members of APO stood in the Kishwaukee River to make sure every duck made its way to the finish line, the crowd gathered around and cheered.
Junior sociology major Amanda Burg said the duck race is not only promoting a good cause; it’s also fun.
“My favorite part is watching people try to catch the ducks at the end,” Burg said.
More than 100 people came together to support the cause.
For more information on the Danny Did Foundation, visit www.dannydid.org.
