#AdvocacyMatters: Rubber Ducks, Real Impact

September 15, 2023

After an overcast afternoon with spotty rain showers, the clouds parted and the sun brightly lit the yellow, pink, and blue ducks bobbing up and down on the Muskingum River in Marietta. Over the course of about 15 minutes, the float of ducks made their way down the 60-yard course. Flanked by boats from the Marietta High School “Tiger Navy” crew team to prevent any wayward waddling, three winners were crowned at the finish line and each and every duck was scooped from the water.

Wednesday’s Duck Derby – our 3rd annual event – represented a major milestone in our efforts to raise funding to support our work and creatively engage with the communities we serve. This year’s derby featured exactly 500 ducks, a staggering 130 more than our previous record. These duck sponsorships, along with event merchandise sales and the support of our presenting sponsor OPOC.us, came together to make a meaningful investment in our mission, our advocacy, and our work. More importantly, this event reinforced our commitment to reach directly into and engage with the communities we serve.

Our deepest thanks go out to each and every one of you who sponsored ducks, bought a t-shirt, shared our posts on social media, and watched the livestream of this year’s event. If you missed out on sponsoring ducks this year, you still have another week to order event logo t-shirts, tote bags, and mugs at disabilityrightsohio.org/duck-derby.

We look forward to seeing you back out on the water – with even more ducks – next year.

Congratulations to this year’s winners: First Place – Lisa Bammerlin, Second Place – Kelly Byrne, and Third Place – Susan Koller.

#AdvocacyMatters