Paramedic student hopes to build a RAV4 community through rubber ducks
Matthew Young, a second-year paramedic student, has always loved Jeeps. Unfortunately, by the time Young was 17 and starting to drive, he couldn’t afford one, leading to him purchase a Toyota RAV4 instead. Young doesn’t regret this decision, he loves his RAV4. However, he found RAV4s to be missing one key thing Jeeps do have: a community.
“So you’ll always see Jeep people waving at each other,” said Young. “I learned really soon after getting my car that RAV4 people do not wave at each other. I’m really trying to change the culture though. So I’ll start with the school and then I want to grow from there.”
To “change the culture,” Young has decided to do what Jeep drivers do, and leave rubber ducks in the door handles of RAV4s he sees on campus.
In between classes, Young will drive his RAV4 around the parking lots on campus, searching for other RAV4s.
“If I see one with an empty spot next to it, I’ll park next to it with all my ducks laid out on my windshield, and then I’ll duck them,” said Young. “So, when they come and see their car, they’ll see my car next to theirs and a little present on their RAV4.”
One of the first people Young ducked was his friend Damrong Saynorath, a fellow paramedic student. Saynorath drives everywhere with his rubber duck.
“My friend gave me my first rubber ducky for my car, and it has been my mascot ever since,” said Saynorath. “It watches my back when I’m ripping down the road in my RAV4 and keeps me safe, even when it comes flying off my dashboard.”
Saynorath said it makes him happy to see his duck “quacking along as he drives.”
The ducks Young gives out aren’t all the generic yellow. Colour and accessories on the RAV4 can determine the kind of rubber duck Young gives out. But, where does Young get these ducks? The answer is claw machines.
Whenever Young goes out – he particularly likes mini putt and arcades – he tries and finds a claw machine with rubber ducks in it. Young said he has found claw machines with ducks in them in Toronto, the Niagara Region and just outside Kingston.
“I spent like $10 on just throwing in coins, collecting as many ducks as I could from somewhere not Ottawa,” said Young.
He has made small progress towards his mission, having ducked fewer than 10 RAV4s.
Oleksandr Gerasymov, a first-year welding student and long-time RAV4 owner, has not – so far – been one of the lucky recipients. He is excited about the possibility of being ducked.
“I would love if someone leaves a rubber duck on my car,” said Gerasymov. “It brings people together, and I think it’s a fun way to make someone’s day just a little bit better by doing small things like leaving a duck.”
Young graduates from Algonquin College in April, but hopes to continue ducking people after his time at the school ends.
