ML group uses flamingos as kids camp fundraiser

By RYAN LANCASTER

Staff Reporter

Those who don't know better might presume a flock of tastelessness has descended on Medical Lake.

But to anyone who wakes up tomorrow morning and sees a neighbor's yard, or their own, overrun by pink flamingo lawn ornaments – do not be alarmed. It's not the work of Floridian terrorists or some gaudy throwback trend, simply an effort to send more kids to camp.

The local chapter of Young Life, a Christian-based non-profit geared toward high school students, is raising money to slash the price of summer camp so that more kids can attend this year. Medical Lake Young Life leader Tyler Stitt said the group's goal is to send 54 teens to camp at half price, meaning a whopping $15,000 needs to be raised by July. But after years of holding car washes ad nauseum, Stitt said he'd grown tired of the same old fundraising methods and sought something different this time around – hence the ornaments that have people talking.

For the past two weeks, crews of Young Lifers have been taking delivery requests from donors and then moving the birds to new locations around town in the dead of night. “

“We do two flocks every night. For $25 you can send 15 flamingos, for the full flock of 25 birds it's $50,” said Stitt. “So far, all who have been flocked have sent them on to someone else.”

Think of it as a little pink plastic payback. Some people opt to send two flocks at the same time; those who would rather not see the birds in their yard again can purchase “flocking insurance” for $25.

The original plan was to let the fun continue for a month, but Stitt said a flocking wait list has already been started and the fundraiser may be extended toward camp time, July 10-16. The group has so far earned about $4,000 through this fundraiser and a recent concert, and will also hold its annual 5K fun run benefit on May 16, starting at Waterfront Park.

“I think for a small town especially, this has been a hit,” Stitt said. “People are coming up and saying thank you for flocking me. Some parents have told me, ‘this fundraiser is going to make us go broke, we keep wanting to send flocks to people.'”

For more information, or to send a flock of your own, call Stitt at 868-8663.

Ryan Lancaster can be reached at ryan@cheneyfreepress.com.