Students from all over the Santa Clarita Valley are invited to submit their entries for “No Duck Left Behind,” a creative essay writing and poster contest to be held in conjunction with Samuel Dixon Family Health Centers’ 9th Annual Rubber Ducky Festival.

Classroom teachers of participating students will be entered into a random drawing in which one teacher will be selected to receive a $200 classroom grant. One winner from each participating school will be selected, and winning entries will be displayed at the Festival, Saturday, Oct. 22 at Castaic Lake, Paradise Cove, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Essays must be 250 words or less; posters may be up to 11″ x 17″ in size. Each entry must include the student’s name, phone number or email address, name of school, grade level, and teacher’s name. The contest runs from October 10 to 17. All entries should be received by Tuesday, Oct. 18 at the SDFHC office, located at 25115 West Avenue Stanford, Ste. 104. The entry form is available on the SDFHC website at www.sdfhc.org.

The annual Rubber Ducky Festival, also known as the Rubber Ducky Regatta, is SDFHC’s signature fundraising event providing patient care funding throughout the year. Rubber ducks for this year’s event are available for purchase online at www.duckrace.com/scv. This year’s grand prize is a seven day vacation for up to four; several other prizes will be available on the day of the race.

In addition to games and vendor booths, the event will feature free admission, free parking, gourmet food trucks and water demonstrations (weather conditions permitting). All proceeds from this event will go toward patient care at SDFHC, which offers affordable, quality primary health care for residents of the Santa Clarita Valley. SDFHC makes a special effort to serve the uninsured and underinsured.

SDFHC thanks sponsors of this year’s event: Boston Scientific, SCV Rotary, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, Kaiser Permanente, Point of View Communications and SOS Entertainment. Andel Engineering is the parking sponsor for the event, and C.A. Rasmussen Inc. is the duck drop sponsor. Media partners for this year’s event include: The Signal and Santa Clarita Valley Business Journal; The Magazine of Santa Clarita and elite Magazine; Santa Clarita Living Magazine and Canyon Country Magazine; SCVTV; KHTS AM 1220; Smart Shopper; Inside SCV Magazine; and Edwards Outdoor Advertising.

SDFHC operates three health centers in the Santa Clarita Valley—Canyon Country Health Center, Val Verde Health Center and Newhall Health Center—as well as outreach sites at College of the Canyons and California Institute of the Arts. SDFHC offers a full range of health care services—physicals, immunizations and vaccines, screenings and diagnostic tests, well baby care, and family planning—to those who may not seek health care elsewhere. Patients pay based on their income. This past year, SDFHC provided service for 11,000 patient visits.

SDFHC was established in 1980 and named for long-time Val Verde resident and minister, the late Reverend Samuel Dixon. A not-for-profit community health center, SDFHC serves the greater Santa Clarita Valley, and is governed by a board of directors, all of whom are Santa Clarita residents. The mission of SDFHC is to enhance wellness by providing quality primary health care services and health education to unserved and underserved residents, with a special emphasis on serving the uninsured. Easily accessible services are available for the entire family in both English and Spanish. Medi-Cal, Blue Cross, Healthy Families and Healthy Way LA are all accepted, and a sliding fee scale is offered, keeping health care affordable for all. Services are available at the Val Verde Health Center (661-257-4008), the Canyon Country Health Center (661-424-1220) and the Newhall Health Center (661-291-1777). SDFHC is supported by countless individuals as well as corporate sponsors who help make affordable health care possible. Tax-deductible contributions are welcome.