CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Homes and even businesses inside and outside of the GMG school district have been invaded by dozens of flamingo lawn ornaments. The GMG Booster Club is holding a Flamingo Flocking Fundraiser throughout the month of April.

The Green Mountain-Garwin Booster Club has a colorful way of fundraising these days.

And that color is pink.

The club is unleashing flocks of pink flamingo lawn ornaments on unsuspecting homes in neighboring communities. The Flamingo Flocking Fundraiser will take place throughout the month of April and possibly longer.

The club will place a dozen flamingos in someone’s yard at the request of a donor. It costs $15 to flock someone’s yard.

If the flamingos show up in your yard there are a few ways to get rid of them. For $20 they will go away. If you donate $30 they will leave and go to the yard of your choice. A $40 donation means the flock will leave your yard, go to the yard of your choice and they will not return.

Booster club member Deb Cornwell said the most surefire way to keep flamingos out of your yard is to purchase Flamingo Flocking Insurance which costs a $50 donation. Flamingo Flocking Insurance means the flamingos will never show up in your yard.

The flamingos are usually moved within 24 hours of a donation being made but Cornwell said some people have asked for them to stay longer even after donating.

The flamingos also arrive with a ransom note which reads, “Surprise, you’ve been flocked!!”

This fundraiser was first held by the GMG Booster Club last fall.

“We were looking for something different to do. Due to COVID we wanted minimal interactions with individuals,” Cornwell said. “This fit the bill to do that.”

The club members weren’t sure how this unique fundraiser would be received but so far people are happy to see the flamingos come to their yards.

“It’s been very well received,” Cornwell said. “It’s been awesome and it’s been fun.”

In the fall the fundraiser brought in about $1,300. There is no set goal for fundraising this spring but if it reaches $1,300 again Cornwell said it would be “phenomenal.”

The flockings are not limited to the GMG school district either. Homes in State Center, Albion and Marshalltown have been invaded by pink plastic birds.

“We actually had a GMG alumni who lives over in Clinton send over a donation and said ‘I want them placed in these five yards,'” she said. “It’s reached outside the community. No place is safe.”

All flocking is done during the daytime by either the booster club or student volunteers.

For the most part everyone has been happy to be in on the joke, according to Cornwell.

“We’ve seen them jump from family member to family member. Students have put them in a teacher’s yard,” she said. “Most people thought it was very funny and fun.”

The proceeds earned through the fundraiser will go toward the booster club and the many things it provides for the school district. This includes scholarships for graduating seniors, helping purchase robotics kits for the robotics club, HUDL membership for athletics and other equipment for the school.

The fundraiser is planned to go on in April but if it keeps momentum at the end of the month it may go longer.

“We just want to thank the community for their support and for supporting the GMG community,” Cornwell said.

FLAMINGO FLOCKING FUNDRAISER

If you would like more information about the

fundraiser contact Deb Cornwell at 641-474-2255, 641-750-1544 or email pdcorn@heartofiowa.net.

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Contact Joe Fisher at jfisher@timesrepublican.com.