Thousands of tiny rubber ducks floated down the Augusta Canal in a fundraising race where the winners are children who will have restful places to sleep.
The 2026 Duck Dash at Savannah Rapids Park anchored a fall festival Oct. 3 with games, vendors, food trucks and live music. The race featuring 4,658 numbered rubber ducks raised $205,254 for the Family YMCA of Greater Augusta’s "A Place to Dream" program.
"When we started A Place to Dream, we saw children in our community without a bed of their own and thought, ‘This is a problem we can fix,'" said Catie McCauley, President and CEO of Family YMCA of Greater Augusta. "What we quickly learned was just how great
the need really is, and that need continues to grow. Duck Dash gives our community a way to come together around these children and helps us sustain this program so that when a family needs a bed or a safe place for their baby to sleep, we can continue to say yes."
More than 2,000 beds have been provided to Augusta-area children since the program began in 2017. Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center later partnered with the program to provide portable cribs and safe-sleep education to families with infants.
For more information about A Place to Dream, the Augusta Duck Dash or ways to support the program, visit thefamilyy.org/a-place-to-dream/.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Thousands of rubber ducks help Augusta children sleep easier
