Imagine waking up one morning to find your yard was filled with plastic pink flamingos overnight. It’s called “flocking,” and it’s what the youth group with New Salem Baptist Church in Soddy-Daisy has been up to recently.
It’s been working, too.
Student Ministry Director Greg Sluder wanted to try something new for a fundraiser for the group’s mission trips and evangelistic outreach programs. Instead of another summer bake sale, he thought, why not order 50 plastic flamingos off Amazon and ask church members if they wanted to pay to have them placed in someone’s yard?
“It’s just a unique way of having some banter and fun between church members,” Sluder said.
The group asks for $20 for its flocking service.
“When I first heard of it, it reminded me of covering someone’s home in toilet paper, except this is a lot cleaner and more fun,” said Sluder.
Church members can also donate to the youth group to keep their yard from being flocked temporarily.
Once a yard is flocked, the kids leave a calling card informing the homeowner of what’s happened, and return a few days later to collect the offending avians – though some of the homeowners the group has flocked were delighted to have a horde of flamingos populating their yard.
“We figured people in homeowner’s associations would definitely pay to get the birds out of their yard,” Sluder laughed. “Though some were even sad to seem them go. I even received a card from one of our church members saying thank you, and that she loved the flamingos in her yard.”
Sluder said it’s been a big hit, and the youth group has raised nearly $600 so far. But the birds will “fly south” at the end of August, so as not to wear out their welcome, he added.
After a bevy of car washes and dessert auctions, Sluder said the kids have been more engaged in this fundraiser than any before it.
“It’s created a lot of good buzz. We’ve even had people stop by church on Sunday because they’d seen the yards we’d flocked and saw the notes saying we’d done it,” he said. “I think the flamingos will definitely be coming back again.”
Those interested in having a neighbor’s yard filled with colorful plastic birds can call New Salem Baptist at 842-3078.
Contact Shane Foley at sfoley@timesfreepress.com or 757-6506.