December 11, 2003


Unique Girl Scout fund-raising scheme

Flocking—it’s not just for Christmas trees

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

They arrive under cover of darkness and are usually discovered by an unsuspecting host at daybreak. They are perfectly harmless, have a gleaming reputation for minding their manners, and disappear with the setting sun the following day, leaving everyone in their path tickled “pink.”

Deriving their name from the Latin word for flame, flamingo flocks can number in the thousands and sometimes up to a million in the wild. They are gregarious birds that remain closely packed together and tend to be very noisy, possessing a deep goose-like “honk.”

However, this is a small flock of the “honk-less” variety and they don’t stay in one place too long, landing stealthily on your front lawn during the evening hours and leaving as silently as they arrived some 24 hours later. In America, this particular variety of flamingos far outnumbers their live counterparts.

In addition to seeing the world and adding cheer to all whose lives they touch, these whimsical long-legged creatures’ sole mission is to migrate about town for dollars, all in an effort to help eight 15- and 16-year old Girl Scout Cadets experience their dreams. This year, that dream is a trip to London.

The migrating flock is the brainchild of Duon Zeroun, who saw an opportunity to help her daughter’s Girl Scout troop raise funds to pay for a trip to Disneyland several years ago. The effort began when four plastic flamingos mysteriously appeared in the front yard of a friend, along with a note explaining their arrival and a request to share their visit in the accompanying journal so future host families could read about their adventures. A letter explaining their mission to help the scouts through contributions from happy hosts and requests for special appearances accompanied the flock.

“The first night they went out, the flamingoes had babies,” exclaimed Zeroun. “When we picked them up, we suddenly had six. Three nights later, the flock had grown to eight.”

“People started adding to the flock,” said Sandy Norman, who oversees the migration of the now over 30 birds with Zeroun. “They loved them. Soon we couldn’t keep up with the requests.”

No one in the troop expected the effort to become so popular that they would continue with the flamingo migration six years later. The flock has since divided into two groups to keep up with increasing demand. Their success enabled them to raise more than $3,500 to pay for a visit to Disneyland in 1998, followed by another in 2002. Currently, they are trying to raise the $22,000 necessary to travel to London, England next spring.

At times, even more surprised than those who inherited the pink visitors were the scouts when they pick them up. As the flock grew in popularity, people started decorating and clothing the birds, documenting their visits with journal entries and photographs. Over the years, the troop has inherited a vast array of costumes, including a one-of-a-kind Elvis get up, custom designed for its lanky, pink impersonator.

“We are pleased to know Elvis is alive and pink and standing in our front lawn,” wrote the Delgado family in a 1999 entry.

In addition to the popular Elvis flamingo, the remainder of the flock has been known to masquerade as fellow Girl Scouts or don red noses and appear as Rudolph wannabes at Christmastime, all in the name of harmless, temporary fun—as well as a donation or two.

“They have taken on a persona of themselves,” says Zeroun of Billy Bob, Frank, Heath Baby, Elvis and the others. “You wouldn’t think that people would enjoy them so much, but they do.”

An added bonus to the effort has found the girls learning many life lessons along the way, including logistics and time management, responsibility, financing, and community service—all while assisting the flock with their migration. “These girls are not just scouts,” adds Zeroun. “They are very active in their school and are constantly doing things for the community.”

“I opened up my door and there was a book saying the flamingoes were visiting and I thought it was an imaginary thing until I saw them scattered in my yard,” commented Almaden resident Jasmine White. What a great way for the girls to learn the neighborhood as a lot of kids don’t have any sense of direction other than to and from school. This is a great fund-raiser that I never would have thought of.”

During the past six years, there has been only one occasion where the flamingoes were not welcomed and within minutes of receiving a call threatening their extinction, they silently migrated to another yard down the street. According to Zeroun, in cases where “the flock is not minding their manners,” the girls quickly arrange to have them relocated.

In 1998, during their inaugural flight, the flock even paid a visit to then Mayor-elect Ron Gonzales, who dressed one of the birds in his likeness. In the journal entry that followed, he stated, “The flamingos spoke me and gave me their demands: More lakes, a flamingo-shaped building decoration, City Hall painted pink, and a flamingo in the mayor's office. My neighbors are jealous because the flamingos did not visit them. I wish the flamingo flock a long life and many safe landings.” Although he couldn’t guarantee painting City Hall pink, he said he would work on the others.

For those who would rather not take any chances, insurance can be purchased for a small fee that would guarantee the policyholder immunity from the landings, however many feel the alternatives could be worse. “It’s much better than getting TP’d,” writes Bruce in a recent journal entry, citing another neighbor who hadn’t been so lucky.

Indeed, the traveling flock is harmless fun, much more palatable than toilet paper, and the money raised will go toward helping eight deserving and hard working scouts migrate to London next year, thanks in no small part to Donald Featherstone, who invented the special lawn variety some 40 years ago. Since then, there has been an estimated 20 million plastic flamingos sold, including those now traveling throughout the Bay area on a regular basis.

For more information on how you can become a host family or send the flamingo flock to a friend, call (408) 225-8979. Cash donations or checks made out to Troop 121/208 will be happily accepted.