Camp Kesem’s annual rubber duck derby brings people to the Red Cedar River to raise funds for children whose parents have or had cancer.
A determined band of ducks on the Red Cedar River crossed under a bridge Friday afternoon near the Computer Center. Among them was duck 189, also known as Mr. Quackers, who sported Superman regalia that enabled him to “fly down the river.”
The ducks — of the yellow plastic variety — were part of Camp Kesem’s annual rubber duck derby. The event raised nearly $1,500, administration coordinator and criminal justice sophomore Alex Monyhan said.
“The money will provide free summer camp to kids (with parents) who have had or currently have cancer,” Monyhan said.
Camp Kesem, which is run by college students, is a weeklong summer camp for kids ages 6-13 and is located in more than 10 states.
The derby was hosted by the Michigan chapter of Camp Kesem, which includes students from the University of Michigan as well as MSU. Monyhan said about 150 people attended the event at the rock on Farm Lane and about 500 people purchased ducks.
Hospitality business freshman Chelsea Steinke’s first-place finish won her a football autographed by MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio.
The derby is in its second year and is part of the organization’s year-round fundraising events, Monyhan said.
“It’s not our biggest event, but it is a lot of fun,” Monyhan said.
Education freshman Jamie Fuss said the act of corralling the ducks before they escaped into the wild was the best part of the derby.
“My favorite part was watching the ducks go down the river because then I got to watch (Michael O’Meara) scramble to get them,” Fuss said.
O’Meara, a nutritional sciences senior, said collecting the ducks this year proved to be less of a struggle compared to last year.
“We didn’t have as good of a contraption in the river last year,” O’Meara said. “Last year, I was in the river for an hour and swam from the rock down to Michigan Avenue.”
O’Meara used a net to collect ducks that made it past the chicken wire barrier stretched across the Red Cedar River.
Residential College in the Arts and Humanities sophomore Sam Appel said he was happy people supported Camp Kesem.
“(Camp Kesem) gives kids in need a place to talk and to connect to people,” Appel said.
Appel, who also is a counselor at the camp, said the fundraising effort was a chance for students to contribute something other than money to the community.
“The whole thing is student run and that is out of the ordinary,” Appel said. “It’s something I have done my whole life and it has helped me grow into my maturity as an adult.”
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