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Local residents find themselves flocked through youth group project |
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Local Content -
Local News
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Written by Larry McGuire
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Saturday, 13 June 2009 |
The home of Mike and Mary Jean Johnston was "flocked" the other night, as they were invaded by a large flock of plastic pink flamingoes. The flamingo invasion is actually part of a fund-raiser for the First United Methodist Church "Extreme Youth" group. (Photo by Larry McGuire/The Punxsutawney Spirit)
PUNXSUTAWNEY — You wake up one morning, and you look out on your front lawn and you see your yard is filled with plastic pink flamingoes.
Congratulations. You've been flocked.
Not to worry, it's not an invasion. It's a fund-raiser for "Extreme Youth" from the First United Methodist Church in Punxsy.
Bill Young Jr., worship and youth director for the First United Methodist Church, said the youth group has hit more than 45 houses with four flocks of plastic flamingoes.
"Our flamingo shepherds, in the dead of the night, place the flamingos in the yards of the friends that have paid to be flocked," Young said. "Since our church is somewhat new to fund-raising, we weren't sure how this was going to work.
"This is not an original idea," he said. "It has been done by church youth groups around the country."
Young said the group purchased plastic pink flamingos in bulk through a site on the Internet.
According to GetFlocked.com, "Pick 10 yards in your community to be the lucky recipients. Attach cards to the flamingoes' necks with a phone number, along with all the pertinent information regarding your group. State that for a donation, the flamingos will be removed, but for $5 more, they will be moved to the lawn of their choice.
"The group should also place a sign that has a contact name and phone number among the flamingoes for those who drive by and would like to have the flamingoes placed in a friends yard. Also give the option to simply pick up the flamingoes gratis, since some people have no sense of fun."
Young said the fun part is getting parents, kids and other members of the church to rally together.
"We added another twist to avoid being flocked: You can purchase pink flamingo insurance," Young said. "You pay $25 to protect yourself from the invasion of these pink pests.
"The people in town have been nothing short of gracious regarding the flamingo fund-raiser," he said. "The flamingo shepards enjoy sneaking into front yards in the dark to set up the pink invasion, so when the victim awakes in the morning, they find their yard has been invaded by the plastic pink flock."
Young said the funds raised from "flocked" will be used toward a youth mission trip the week of July 13-17 in Grove City, as the Punxsy youth group will meet with other United Methodist youth groups from around Western Pennsylvania to learn about mission work in Sudan and to help with local projects.
Young said the flamingoes are tied to other fund-raisers, such as a car wash the youth group will hold Sunday, June 28, at Wal-Mart.
The youth will also baby-sit for parents so they may have a night out, and supervise their children ages six to 10 with various programs.
"We're learning to discover the heart of Jesus," Young said. "We're hoping God may lead us there this year."
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Last Updated ( Monday, 15 June 2009 )
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