It’s time to give a duck: A river of support for literacy in Habersham County

CLARKESVILLE, Ga. – Clarkesville will soon celebrate spring as the 64th Annual Mountain Laurel Festival returns in May 2026. The streets will fill with a parade, artisan vendors, and a full slate of family-friendly activities, many anchored by the work of Volunteers for Literacy of Habersham County.

At the heart of the festivities sits one of the region’s most beloved traditions: the 15th Annual Rubber Duck Race. On May 16 at 2:00 p.m., hundreds of bright yellow ducks will tumble into the Soque River from Sutton Bridge at Pitts Park, racing toward a 3:00 p.m. finish and a chance at prizes of $1,000, $500, and $250. For $5, attendees can adopt a duck and support local literacy programs in the process.

The fun begins well before the splash. Through the Deck-a-Duck contest, local businesses decorate their ducks in imaginative style, while festivalgoers browse, admire, and cast their votes for their favorites. From 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., the Family Fun Fest will fill Pitts Park with free activities, including bouncy houses, games, and children’s entertainment, making it an ideal outing for families ahead of the main event.

Interested in purchasing your Duck Race tickets? You can buy them at the event or follow the link below to purchase them digitally.

The mission behind Volunteers for Literacy of Habersham County

In a crowded mobile home on the edge of Cornelia, a mother begins her morning before sunrise, moving through rooms arranged to hold more life than they were designed for, stepping past backpacks stacked beside a narrow couch where one child fell asleep reading a manga, pausing to review English phrases she repeats because the words must become familiar enough for conversation, interviews, and the citizenship test that will determine the next chapter of her family’s life.

Her husband has already left for the factory, and she gathers her folder of worksheets while her children wake and dress quickly because they know that today brings class, nursery, and a shared meal with others whose journeys resemble their own. When a volunteer from Volunteers for Literacy of Habersham County arrives to provide transportation, the trip makes instruction possible that would otherwise remain beyond reach.

Inside the classroom, adult learners practice English, while their children play in a nursery filled with books that build early familiarity with language. After class, participants share a potluck meal, exchanging advice about jobs, school enrollment, and test preparation, forming relationships that extend beyond instruction into
mutual support.

For families living in housing arrangements crushed by rising costs and limited availability, literacy instruction becomes inseparable from stability, because the ability to communicate effectively influences employment opportunities, educational outcomes, and the capacity to navigate systems that form family well-being, and in Habersham County, where 62 percent of students qualify as economically disadvantaged, these pressures influence educational performance long before graduation day (and well after).

Indeed, according to U.S. News & World Report, at Habersham Central High School only 45 percent of students demonstrate reading proficiency and just 7 percent meet mathematics benchmarks, figures that suggest many students progress through school without mastering foundational skills, and while the graduation rate reaches 98 percent, the gap between completion and proficiency raises concerns about readiness for postsecondary education and skilled employment.

Economic conditions contribute significantly to these outcomes. In Cornelia, poverty rates exceed 27 percent, and median household income remains substantially below state and national averages, leaving many families balancing rising housing costs, transportation barriers, and childcare needs that make consistent academic engagement more difficult. Local educators report that overcrowded housing conditions have become increasingly common as families double up or share limited space in response to rising rents and constrained supply.

Through initiatives including Read to Succeed, English Language Acquisition (ESOL) classes, GED preparation and testing support, adult tutoring, citizenship test preparation, Little Free Library placements, participation in the Scripps Spelling Bee, support for One Book Habersham, large-scale book distribution through schools and community partners, family literacy programs, early childhood reading encouragement, assistance with testing fees and transportation barriers, and collaboration with local organizations to provide instructional materials and mentorship, Volunteers for Literacy of Habersham County works to ensure learners of all ages have consistent access to the tools, guidance, and encouragement necessary for sustained educational progress.

Rubber Duck

In Habersham County, literacy takes shape in the parent who learns enough English to speak with a teacher, in the student who finishes their first Goosebumps book, in the adult who studies late for a certification exam that opens the door to steadier employment, and in families who come to see education not as an insurmountable obstacle, but as a genuine pleasure—one that shapes decisions across years and often across generations.

It also takes shape in the form of a little yellow rubber duck.