About 800 plastic yellow ducks are released from the Peel St Bridge on Saturday afternoon as a part of the Life Education Trust Gisborne, East Coast and Wairoa fundraiser, which made about $20,000 for the organisation.
About 800 plastic yellow ducks are released from the Peel St Bridge on Saturday afternoon as a part of the Life Education Trust Gisborne, East Coast and Wairoa fundraiser, which made about $20,000 for the organisation.
A fine but windy Saturday allowed 800 yellow ducks in the Life Education Trust Five Buck A Duck fundraiser to race down Taruheru River in record time.
The biennial duck race/fundraiser is expected to raise about $20,000 for Life Education Trust Gisborne, East Coast and Wairoa.
The corporate duck racetook place after the little yellow duck race, with 103 ducks involved - up from 78 two years ago.
Pit Stop Gisborne auto repair business received a $1000 travel voucher for winning the corporate race.
Best dressed duck was won by Allan Berry Motors, which received a restaurant voucher.
The successful fundraiser culminated in prizes being given out to the winning yellow duck ticket-holders. These included soccer balls, a skateboard, scooter, Lego, air fryer, slow cooker and a trip on steam locomotive Wa165.
Fun activities on the day included the Gisborne-Wainui Lions train, face-painting, a bouncy castle and music from the Orphans Band - all based at Marina Park.
East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick congratulated winners while Life Education Trust mascot Harold the Giraffe greeted children and handed out spot prizes.
Life Education Trust's giraffe mascot Harold is always popular and proved so again at the trust's Five Buck A Duck fundraiser held on Saturday.
Life Education Trust Gisborne, East Coast and Wairoa chairwoman Pat Seymour thanked businesses that sponsored a corporate duck and the public who bought yellow duck tickets and attended the event.
“This event draws on the skills of the Gisborne Yacht Club, who manage the event on the water and have three young people in kayaks to collect wayward ducks ... and there were some on Saturday,” Seymour said.
“The Rotary Club of Gisborne own the ducks and we pay Rotary a donation for the use of the little ducks and the original purchase of the decoy corporate ducks.”
Seymour said Life Education Trust expected to make more than $20,000 once all expenses were paid.
“We need to raise $120,000 for every year of the delivery of Life Education Trust health and wellbeing curriculum in primary and intermediate schools and kura for the tamariki of the region - Potaka to Wairoa, Matawai and Motu to the city.”
