Rhame Avenue Elementary School holds unique 'flocking' fundraiser

Throughout East Rockaway, pink flamingos have been sprouting up on front lawns. There is a method to the madness, however. The sixth grade class at Rhame Avenue Elementary School is running a unique fundraiser to offset yearly activities costs in which they place plastic pink flamingos on neighbors’, friends’ or strangers’ lawns around town.

The fundraiser will offset costs the parents of the students usually pay for the graduates to attend an annual retreat to Frost Valley, a combined picnic with Centre Avenue Elementary School, the end of the year dance and all graduation expenses. The fundraiser, referred to as "flocking," has spread around East Rockaway since the start of the New Year.

Kristina O'Neill, co-chairperson of the activities fund, said the idea for the fundraiser came from friends who started the flocking at Long Beach Catholic Regional School. "They had a lot of success with it, so we thought we would try it here," O’Neill said. "The students really love it, and it's a fun way to raise money." 

O’Neill said she purchased the flamingos online at Home Depot and once they got approval from the school, they were set to begin flocking. So far, the class has flocked 45 houses, the exterior of Rhame Avenue School and three classrooms inside the school. O’Neill said that students, teachers and even some of the unsuspecting victims of the flocking have all said they have had fun participating in the fundraiser, which has raised $800.

Parents or students participated in the event by paying a set cost of $10 for 15 flamignos, or $15 for 20. Once the flock is approved, volunteering sixth-graders will put the plastic flamingos on the lawn. Two parents volunteer to drive the students to one or two houses. The students usually run up to the house, place the flamingos across the lawn and ring the doorbell and run away before the person answers the door. 

A friendly note is provided along with the flamingos, so those who receive a surprise on their lawn can understand the reason. The person who has been flocked has the ability to retaliate, but they have to donate to the fund in order to send the flock back. 

The fundraiser came to an end on June 1. O’Neill said she is unsure if the 2017-18 sixth grade class will be participating in the flocking fun next year, but she is hopeful that the flamingos will continue to migrate around East Rockaway in the future.