Dog hits the streets to promote Duck Pluck

Ask any community organization and they will tell you that good volunteers are hard to find. The Boys and Girls Club of Elgin has solved that problem with one of their best volunteers, Cheddar the Duck Dog.

Since the summer of 2004, Cheddar has been donning her duck costume and helping sell duck adoptions for the club's annual Duck Pluck. Cheddar has marched in parades, attended Elgin Chamber Business After Hours, and worked at Jewel locations spreading her charm and teaching people about the Boys and Girls Club of Elgin.

"Cheddar loves to work at the Jewel," said one of her owners, Jessica Wendt, age 16. "We sell more duck adoptions when she is here, because people stop to pet her and it gives them a chance to hear about the great work the Boys and Girls Club does."

Both Jessica and her 14-year-old sister, Lauren, have been out with Cheddar every year to support the Duck Pluck.

The annual Duck Pluck is the Boys and Girls Club of Elgin's biggest fundraiser of the year. Eleven thousand little rubber ducks are dumped into the fountain at Festival Park in downtown Elgin. This year, the pluck will be held in conjunction with FoxFire Fest.

Children are picked from the crowd to go into the fountain and pluck the winning ducks. The winners get prizes, with the first prize being an all-inclusive trip to Puerto Vallarta, compliments of Sunshine Travel and Apple Vacations. Someone could even win $1 million.

The Duck Pluck 2009 will take place at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 2, in the Festival Park Fountain. You can adopt a duck for $5 at a local Jewel location on the weekends, at the Boys and Girls Club of Elgin, 355 Dundee Ave., or at www.elginducks.com. Call (847) 742-DUCK for further details.

The Boys and Girls Club of Elgin was established to provide alternative prevention services for the area's at-risk youth, and officially opened its doors on Nov. 9, 1993. Now operating out of the new Education and Enrichment Center, the club serves more than 1,300 members with after-school and summer programs.

The club's Education and Enrichment Center, 355 Dundee Ave., is open in the summer from noon to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For details or to make a donation, visit boysandgirlsclubofelgin.org.