CARE duck drop and race in Arden

Julie Druker | Aug 05, 2015

CARE duck drop and race in Arden

by Julie Druker

The local community organization known as Community Angels for Rescue and Emergency (CARE) is a community care program in Arden that began with the local ladies auxiliary and members of the Arden Legion Branch #334. The six-member organization serves local families in the community by assisting them with emergency relief needs. The financial relief provided comes in many forms, and in the past the organization has provided local families with financial relief related to home fires, family burials, and the costs associated with hospital stays for sick children.

On Saturday August 1, Judy McClure, chair of CARE along with CARE member Doug Scott dumped close to 200 yellow rubber ducks off the Bridge Street bridge in Arden as part of their annual duck race fundraiser. The ducks, which are numbered, are purchased for $5 each or 3 for $10 by members of the community. The ducks were carried by the current a few 100 metres downstream to the Arden dam. The purchasers of the first three ducks that cross the finish line win cash prizes. The cash prizes given out this year were to Elaine Flieler, 1st; John McArthur 2nd; and A. Squibb 3rd. A number of onlookers watched as the ducks were dumped over the bridge, after which the organizers quickly made their way to the dam where they awaited the three first finishers. This year due to low water levels on the Arden Creek, the drop site was moved from its former site at the Arden mill pond to the bridge on Bridge Street.

CARE was established in 1996 and continues to support members of the community, and though the funds raised at this year's duck race have yet to be directed to a particular cause, the group will, as usual meet to decide how to spend the funds once a need presents itself. Those wanting to make a donation to CARE can do so at the Arden Legion Branch # 334 or by calling Judy McClure at 613-335-2540.