Flocks of flamingos - not turkeys - flaunt Warwick

Tim Forsberg
Posted 11/25/14

As turkeys are being prepared for Thanksgiving dinner, flocks of flamingos have migrated onto residents’ yards across Warwick.

These flamingos are birds of a different feather. In fact, they …

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Flocks of flamingos - not turkeys - flaunt Warwick

Posted

As turkeys are being prepared for Thanksgiving dinner, flocks of flamingos have migrated onto residents’ yards across Warwick.

These flamingos are birds of a different feather. In fact, they have no feathers at all. They’re the pink plastic lawn ornaments made famous during the 1950s and ’60s, and they’ve been placed there by Warwick’s Girl Scouts.

Girl Scout Troops 274 and 44 of Warwick, with 25 and 12 girls respectively, are planning a weekend trip to Pine Grove Ranch in New York for October 2015. The ranch promises the girls an adventure of fishing, boating, rock climbing, archery, campfires, mini-golf, an animal farm and more. It’s an expensive trip for the scouts, costing on average more than $200 per person.

Hoping to give the girls more opportunities and make the trip affordable, troop leaders were inspired by a fundraiser held last year by St. Peter Church and School where Troop 274 meets. The fundraiser’s premise involves placing 10 plastic flamingos on a front yard very early in the morning, with a banner telling the surprised resident that they’ve been “flocked.”

Attached to one of the flamingos is a letter explaining that the resident has been nominated for “flocking” and who had selected them. The letter asks for a donation of any denomination or an option to decline. A third choice, for a $10 donation, allows the resident to choose someone else for flocking. Adding a touch of intrigue, requests for anonymity are honored.

“I work third shift, so I have the advantage where I’m on my way home from work at 6 in the morning,” explained Christine Silcox, one of the adult leaders of Troop 274, about the morning flamingo drop-offs, which usually go unnoticed. “I’ll be driving from work with 30 flamingos in my car, and before I get home I’m flocking houses.”

“We are having a ball, it’s been so much fun,” added Sue Neal, leader of Troop 44. “The girls are having a great time; we’re trying to do this in secret, trying to be quiet. This is the most fun we’ve had trying to raise money.”

While the birds have rustled the feathers of some homeowners, and one flamingo flew the coop under mysterious circumstances, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. A recent deposit of approximately $1,000 in donations was made by Troop 247, with $300 raised so far by Troop 44.

“This week alone our troop has flocked five houses a day. Last week we had to buy more flamingos. I have nearly 25 flocking requests right now that are waiting,” said Silcox, who now manages five flocks.

“We still have 20 orders that we need to fill,” said Neal, who has already flocked 15 houses with her troop’s two flocks.

While drop-offs occur before sunrise, because of timing with school the young girls only sometimes help in the mornings. The birds remain on a property for the entire day, and it’s the corralling of the flocks around sunset where the scouts really get to help with the project.

“My girls are so quick with this,” said Silcox about the pickups, which also go unnoticed by the homeowners. “They get out of the car and they just run through the yards and grab them – as they call it – ninja style.”

While the plan is to keep the fundraiser going as long as there is interest, both troop leaders saw value in the lessons the girls learned from their flocking experiences.

“If you get the community involved, and have fun, then everyone benefits,” said Neal. “It’s not just about the money; it’s about building a stronger community because everyone is having so much fun with these flamingos.”

“I think this shows the girls that their goals are achievable,” said Silcox. “If they work hard toward a goal, anything is attainable.”

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