NASHUA – Who would think that several thousand rubber ducks, making their way down the Nashua River, could have a wide-ranging positive impact on the city as a whole?

Well, the Rotary Club of Nashua West certainly does, as it has benefited dozens of local charities with its annual Nashua Duck Derby. This year’s event will take place on Oct. 17 at 2 p.m. between Front Street and the Main Street Bridge in Nashua. Attendees are invited to adopt a duck for $5 apiece. This event is free and open to the public, and the winner need not be present to win.

“This is our third year doing this,” said Kim Reagan, former president of the club and one of the coordinators of the event. “In that time, it has grown prodigiously. The first year, we put 2,500 ducks in the water; the next year, that grew to 5,000, and we’re looking at 7,500 now.”

Reagan said that, although the ducks are available for $5 each, there are package deals available for larger numbers.

“All of the funds from this event go into our Nashua Giving Club, run by the West Nashua Rotary Club,” she said. “The race will start at Front Street, and they’ll float down the river the river from there, and head toward the Main Street Bridge. At that point, they’ll be fished out of the water. We put a long piece of plastic tubing across the river, and the first three ducks to hit that will be the winners for our three prizes, being $2,500 for first place, $1,000 for second place, and $500 for third place.”

The number of charitable organizations served by the event is significant, and growing. At the time of publication, they included the following: Big Brothers Big Sisters of NH; Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua; Bridges: Domestic & Sexual Violence; The Child Advocacy Center of Hillsborough County; Corpus Christi Food Pantry and Assistance; Easterseals NH; Front Door Agency, Inc.; Gate City Community Coalition; Gateways Community Services; Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains; The Greater Nashua Dental Connection; Harbor Homes, Inc.; Home Health & Hospice Care; Humane Society for Greater Nashua; Lamprey Health Care, Inc.; Marguerite’s Place, Inc.; Nashua Chamber Orchestra; Nashua Children’s Home; Nashua Prevention Coalition; Nashua River Watershed; Nashua Association for the Elderly, Inc.; Nashua Special Olympics; The PLUS Company, Inc.; Rivier Institute for Senior Education – RISE; St. Joseph Community Services, Inc.; The Salvation Army; Sinfonietta Strings Program; United Way of Greater Nashua; Southern NH HIV/AIDS Task Force; The Stork Project; Symphony NH; UpReach Therapeutic Equestrian Center, Inc.; YMCA of Greater Nashua; and the Youth Council.

Sponsors for this event include: Gold: Brady Sullivan Properties; The Nashua Telegraph. Silver: Melanson CPAS; Weisman, Tessier, Lambert & Halloran; Enterprise Bank; Southern New Hampshire Health; NorthPoint Construction Management. Bronze: B&S Integrated Security;Chick-fil-a; Expert Design Solutions, LLC; Focused Eye Care; Law Logistics; St. Marys Bank; White Mountain IT; Eaton & Berube Insurance; The Pain Relief Center; Edward Jones Investments; Triangle Credit Union; Barry & Honorow PLLC; Franklin Savings Bank; Ripano Stoneworks; Splash; Nashua Area Kayak Exploration Destinations. 2020 Friends of the Flock: Lavoie Wealth Management.

“We’re certain that this event will benefit the entire community,” Reagan said. “As we’re celebrating our 50th anniversary this year, this will also draw attention to the Rotary Club of Nashua West, and show just what we’ve been doing for greater Nashua over the decades. We’re really going quackers for the community.”

The 2020 Nashua Duck Derby will take place on Oct. 17, beginning at 2 p.m., starting at Front Street and ending at the Main Street Bridge. This event is free and open to the public. Those who wish to adopt a duck for $5 apiece are invited to visit www.duckrace.com.