Clare Cruickshank. Photo by The Little Yellow Duck Project/Facebook

People have been finding little handmade and rubber duckies with cash strapped to them all over the world, and the identities of the people spreading the adorable act of goodwill have been revealed: It’s a mom and friend of her late daughter, both of whom are keeping their loved one’s memory alive with her favorite animal.

Over the past eight months, more than 2,300 ducks have been discovered in 56 countries such as Australia, Peru, Japan, Nigeria, and India. The ducks are found in random places — on a cafe table in Berlin, inside an airport in Singapore, at Esther Island in the gulf of Alaska — each with a note attached that reads, “Hello. Please take me home. I was made with love just for you” and an invitation to visit The Little Yellow Duck Project to learn about the project’s mission: Raising awareness for organ and tissue donation. Although many have been uncertain as to who was behind the duckies, the women supporting the project never made their mission a secret.

STORY: Family Gives Away $100K to Deserving Family to Honor Daughter

British mother Ann Rowcliff’s 26-year-old daughter Clare Cruickshank died on April 15, 2013 from cystic fibrosis, a genetic lung disease, after the family could not find a matching donor for a lifesaving lung transplant. Before Clare died, she asked her mother to donate her own organs to save a life and Clare’s corneas ended up restoring the sight of two strangers. Clare also loved little ducks and owned a huge collection. To honor Clare, Rowcliff, 59, and Clare’s best friend Emma Harris (who reportedly also suffers from cystic fibrosis) launched The Little Yellow Duck Project one year after Clare’s death to remind people of the importance of organ donation. Although Harris, a mother of a seven-year-old boy, founded the organization, she tells Yahoo Parenting that Rowcliff has been a key supporter, even learning to knit so she could make her own duck.

Story continues

Rowcliff and her friends began handing out the ducks in their hometown of Peterborough, Cambridegeshire, but the craze quickly took off — people who found the ducks began leaving them for others to find (along with cash ranging from $15 to $80) or designing their own knitted, fabric, or crochet versions through a service advertised on the project’s website. Despite reports that some ducks have come strapped with cash, Harris tells Yahoo Parenting that The Little Yellow Duck Project doesn’t distribute money. Instead, people have taken it upon themselves to include cash with some ducks. ”The ducks… carry a deeper message which is that some random acts of kindness can literally save people’s lives through the gifts of blood, bone marrow, organ and tissue donation,” she says.

STORY: Facebook Photo Could Have Saved Kid’s Life

Yahoo Parenting could not reach Rowcliff or Harris for comment, however, according to The Peterborough Telegraph, Rowcliff said, “Clare was dotty about yellow ducks she would have loved it, she was fun loving. The ducks are so reminiscent of Clare, she was so bubbly. They make me feel like a little bit of her is still here.”

There is no cure for cystic fibrosis (characterized by fluid build up the lungs, among other organs) and patients with severe breathing problems often require lung transplants, controversial procedures in part because of their potential complications and the fact that they may not prolong a person’s lifespan.

However, The Little Yellow Duck Project has offered some patients hope. According to the project’s blog, a mother named Emma and her 19-month-old daughter found a duckie in the park named Marmaduke. The experience inspired Emma (who is afraid of needles) to donate blood and become a potential bone marrow donor. “If it wasn’t for my little one finding one of the ducks I’d never have plucked up the courage to go,” said Emma. “It’s my daughter that deserves the thanks as she wouldn’t let me leave the duck behind!

It’s exactly what Clare would have wanted. Said Rowcliff, “We would quite like to conquer the world! That was what Clare always said when asked as a youngster what she wanted to do when she grew up.”

Please follow @YahooParenting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Have an interesting story to share about your family? E-mail us at YParenting (at) Yahoo.com.