JourneyCare Duck Race raises $21,000 in Barrington, celebrates kid patients

Sure, crowds cheer for the swimming rubber ducks racing to the finish line at JourneyCare's Duck Race and Pool Party in Barrington.

But the real stars of the evening are the nonprofit agency's pediatric patients.

This annual fundraiser benefits JourneyCare's All About Kids pediatric program, while simultaneously celebrating the children the program serves throughout 10 Illinois counties. In this region, JourneyCare provides home hospice, palliative care and other post-acute services to both children and adults living with serious and life-threatening illness, while also operating inpatient hospice centers in Barrington, Chicago, Glenview, Arlington Heights and Woodstock.

At the Duck Race, pediatric patients and their families are invited celebrate with JourneyCare staff and volunteers in a special VIP tent for dinner, activities and music, before joining the community for an evening swim at Barrington's Aqualusion Water Park.

Sponsored rubber ducks also race six heats down the waterslide, with winning ducks' sponsors earning prizes like tickets to the Chicago Botanic Gardens and improv theater. This year, race supporters raised $21,000 at the Aug. 11 fundraiser.

"The Duck Race is an opportunity for our pediatric families to engage in a community event where they are among other families that share similar experiences and lifestyles," JourneyCare Child Life Specialist Jennifer Mangers said. "It's a chance to be a part of a group where the focus is not on a child with an illness, but instead it's simply a day to relax and have fun at the pool."