What do yellow rubber duckies and children in crisis have in common? The Henderson County Rainbow Room.
The Rainbow Room will be hosting its 13th annual Duck Races at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center this Saturday, Sept. 27, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. McDonald’s helps sponsor the event.
The Duck Race is one of the major fundraisers for the Rainbow Room, which is an “emergency resource center for abused and neglected children in Henderson County that are served by Child Protective Services.”
For $5 on Saturday, people will be able to purchase a ticket corresponding to a numbered duck — the ticket also includes entrance to the Fisheries Center — and those ducks will then race down the river in one of five separate heats.
The top three winners in each heat will win a gift card from Walmart. The top 20 ducks in each heat will be entered into the Grand Championship Race.
The winner of the championship race will win $500, while the last place finisher (the Lame Duck) will win $50.
There are also sponsor ducks available, but more about that later.
THE RAINBOW ROOM
The Rainbow Room was started in 2000 “to provide new clothes, personal hygiene items, school supplies, etc. to local abused and neglected children that are served by Child Protective Services.”
Office Administrator Julie Funkhouser explained the Rainbow Room is like an emergency response system that serves all of Henderson County. It is there so that CPS workers have a place to get supplies for the children they are serving.
“It is sort of like a small dollar store,” she said, pointing to shelves filled with the items most of us take for granted.
The problem occurs when children are in transition from an unsafe environment to foster care or another family member.
“Sometimes the children don’t have anything except what they have on,” Funkhouser said.
The Rainbow Room even keeps car seats and pack-n-plays on hand for infants.
Unfortunately, the Rainbow Room has been put to great use this year. According to statistics Funkhouser provided, as of August the facility had served nearly as many children as in all of 2013.
The Rainbow Room is funded through grants, donations and fundraisers like Saturday’s Duck Races.
SPONSOR DUCKS
Which gets us back to ducks … and how you can help.
In addition to the $5 tickets purchased on Saturday, businesses and individuals can purchase sponsor ducks for $50.
A sponsor duck becomes yours and you can decorate your duck anyway you like. That’s important because there will be a Cutest Quacker Award for the best decorated duck. There will also be a sponsor duck race for the Quickest Qaucker.
Sponsor duck winners in both contests get a trophy — and the knowledge that they have helped an important charity.
For more information or to purchase a sponsor duck, please call the Rainbow Room at 903-676-2416.
Tickets for ducks may be purchased Saturday at the Fisheries Center.