Even though rubber ducks are basically just plastic children's toys, 15,000 of these little guys will be racing for an important cause this weekend.

The 10th annual Rubber Duck Derby to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hall County is set for Saturday, and all proceeds will go to the local nonprofit.

"Last year we raised $84,000 net. ... We are hoping to hit the $100,000 mark (this year)," said Joyce Wilson, vice president of development and marketing for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hall County. "We've already got $60,000 in sponsorship dollars, and if we can sell all 15,000 of our ducks we might get close to the $100,000 total."

The Rubber Duck Derby, which begins at 1:30 p.m., is kicked off by thousands of ducks dumped into Lake Lanier from a barge.

And the race is on.

The duck that reaches the finish line first is the winner. Each duck has a number that matches with the adoptive parent.

To make the ducks' trek a little easier, there will be help from personal watercrafts, kayakers and canoers to create waves and to keep the ducks on course.

The grand prize this year is a new 2008 Camry LE, first prize is a one-carat diamond solitaire, second prize is a Lake Lanier Islands Resort getaway and third prize is a $500 Best Buy gift card.

Along with the Duck Derby there will be a Family Fun Day sponsored by the Edmondson-Telford Center for Children, Safe Kids and Interactive Neighborhood for Kids.

"We will providing activities like moonwalks and cake walks and interactive fun games that the entire family can participate in, and there's also going to be safety and health-related booths there that can teach kids about helmet safety and bicycle safety," said Dana Miller, the marketing/program director at INK. "There will be a fire engine and some firefighters and police officers. Also Mad Science is going to be letting kids do some sort of little take-home science experiment."

Wilson added that Best Buy also will sponsor activities for the children.

"Best Buy is bringing out four tents full of big screen TVs with a Wii station and we are going to do Wii tournaments."

The Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club will sponsor a Fungatta with canoeing, kayaking, food and live music.

Hamburgers, hot dogs and snow cones will be available, plus some new additions. "We ... will do a dessert tent with funnel cakes, fried Oreos and fried Twinkies," Wilson said.