'Adopt Some Ducks, Win $5,000 Bucks'



'Adopt Some Ducks, Win $5,000 Bucks'
“Adopt some ducks, win $5,000 bucks,” is the theme of the annual Child Advocacy Center Duck Derby and Family Fun Day June 11 on the Stones River.

The river will run yellow when 10,000 adopted ducks race to help prevent child abuse and help children who have been abused. The sponsor of the first duck to glide across the finish line will win the $5,000 grand prize presented by Middle Tennessee Electric Customers Care Inc.

Ducks may be adopted for $5 apiece, $25 for a six-quack, $50 for a Quacker’s Dozen of 12 or $100 for a Flock of Ducks with 25 adoptions, said Queen of the Quakers Kristin Demos. Ducks may be adopted at Demos’ restaurant, US Bank, FirstBank, Top of the Block, Bell Jewelers, Reeves-Sain, Mills Family Pharmacy, The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro Post and the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office. Ducks may also be purchased online at www.duckrace.com/murfreesboro.

People who adopt ducks will receive a postcard in the mail. The first 1,000 children to bring the postcard to the Duck Derby will receive a souvenir rubber duck.

Proceeds from the Duck Derby at the Sportsman’s Club on Medical Center Parkway will benefit the Child Advocacy Centers in Rutherford and Cannon Counties.  The centers serves victims of child abuse, child sexual abuse, and drug endangered children, along with their non-offending family members.

“It is the belief of the Child Advocacy Center that children deserve the best, especially in their times of crisis,” Demos said.

The center teams with the Department of Children's Services, law enforcement, and the District Attorney's Office to investigate and prosecute child abuse cases and help children and their families heal from the trauma and victimization of the abuse. Funds will be used to provide these critically needed services to child victims and their families. During the past 10 years, the team investigated and prosecuted over 6,000 cases in Rutherford and Cannon Counties.

Events will kick off at noon with the Family Fun Festival where families can enjoy food, entertainment, children’s games and activities outside the Sportsman’s Club at 1231 Medical Center Parkway.

Auctioneers will sell large rubber ducks autographed by celebrities at 4:30 p.m. Ducks will hit the water for the derby at 5:23 p.m.
 
Besides the grand prize of $5,000, other prizes include:

• Second prize; A Week at the Beach at Sugar Beach Condominiums in Orange Beach, Ala., including tickets for the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo and free lunches and free breakfasts sandwiches at the Ducks’ Diner.

• Third prize:  Gatlinburg Getaway including a three-night stay at a cabin, admissions to Christ in the Smokies Museum and Gardens, Dollywood and Fort Fun for laser tag, 3-D Theater and bumper cars, miniature golf, rating, Venturer Motion Ride Movie Theater, Wilderness in the Smokies and one complimentary night at Stone Hill Lodge.

• Fourth prize: $500 gift card to Demos’ restaurant.

• Fifth prize:$500 gift card to Bell Jewelers.

• Sixth prize: Professional fisherman Joey Monelone’s Guided Fishing Trip.

• Seventh prize: Memphis Moonlight, one night stay at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, admissions to Chucalissa Museum, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Graceland, Lichterman Nature Center, Memphis Botanic Garden, National Civil Rights Museum, Pink Palace Family Museums, Pink Palace Family Museum, the Cotton Museum and Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum.

• Eighth prize: Duck River Expedition including Normandy Cottage weekend stay, Normandy Kayaks and Weekend Kayak Rental.

• Ninth prize: Ladies Prize Pack including Chanel of Dillard’s, Green Hills Mall Women’s Prize Basket, Chanel Gift Basket, Top of the Block Women’s Prize Package and Synergy Spa Pack.

• 10th prize: Reelfoot Lake Fisherman’s Getaway at Boyette’s Resort, including a cottage on Friday and Saturday for two adults and two children, Boyette’s Dining Room (recently featured on “Tennessee Crossroads,”) and Bo’s Landing Boat Rental.

• 11th prize: The Murfreesboro Treat including a family pass to the Discovery Center, $75 gift card for four-adult Sunday brunch at B. McNeel’s restaurant, one-year membership to Cox Family Martial Arts, four family passes to Go USA Fun Park, four admissions to Phazer Kraze Laser Tag and four admissions to the Sam Davis Home.

• 12th prize: Nashville Night, one year family membership to Adventure Science Center, four admissions to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Museum of Art, weekend stay for two at Nashville Downtown Courtyard by Marriott, two meals at Pancake Pantry, four admissions to Ryman Auditorium and a family pass at Travellers Rest Plantation and Museum.

• 13th prize: Day trip to Chattanooga with admissions to Chattanooga’s Southern Belle Riverboat, Creative Discovery Museum, Hunter Museum of American Art, Ruby Falls and the Tennessee Aquarium.

 • 14th prize: Weekend trip to Huntsville with two-night stay at Embassy Suites and Spa including complimentary cooked-to-order breakfast and manager’s reception each evening and admissions to Burritt on the Mountain, Early Works Museums, Huntsville Botanical Garden, Huntsville Museum of Art and Sci-Quest Hands-on Science Center.

For more information, contact Executive Director Sharon DeBoer of the Child Advocacy Center at 867-9000.