Over the course of the last few weeks, flocks of small, plastic flamingos have sprouted up in yards all across the Robinson area. These unexpected visitors appeared as a source of fundraising for the baseball team, as they hope to compete in a tournament in Orlando over the upcoming spring break. 

This unusual fundraising method is fairly simple: for $35 (for a small flock of 20 flamingos) or $45 (a large flock of 40), one can have the flamingos delivered to any house of their choosing, where the tropical decorations will reside in the yard for about three days. Spanning from homes in the immediate Robinson area to as far as Reston, the baseball team’s expeditions have already raised about $3,500. In order to pay for the steep expenses of the Orlando tournament, these large amounts of sales will be huge for the program. 

“We’re hoping to make five to six thousand dollars,” said senior Alex Jones, one of the players responsible for leading the venture. “It’s been really fun so far.” Among other fundraising options such as their yearly Christmas tree sale, the flamingos are a more unconventional, but comical, method of raising money. “I find it a lot of fun,” said Grant Shafer, a senior on the baseball team. “Everyone that helps out has a good time.”

Senior JJ Lewis was ‘flamingo-ed’ by a friend partaking in the fundraising process. “I was surprised when I looked outside and I saw all the flamingos in my yard,” said Lewis. “I was doing homework next to the window for hours and didn’t even see them [the baseball team] putting the flamingos in.” Lewis’ yard is one of the nearly 100 that the baseball team has flamingo-ed thus far, with hopefully more to come. “It’s a really good and fun idea,” added Lewis. “I think other organizations should come up with their own creative ideas like that, it will really help Robinson flourish.”