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CASSOPOLIS — Cass County residents may have noticed an influx in feathered friends with the return of spring the last few weeks, and can expect even more coming soon — in the hot pink variety.

The Cass County 4-H Leaders’ Association’s latest fundraiser “You’ve Been Flocked” will result in a flock of plastic flamingoes in yards throughout the county.

“With a simple phone call and donation, a flock of bright pink flamingoes can appear in a friend’s yard or business, where it can hang out for a couple days before it disappears just as magically as it appeared,” said Rennie Witham, Cass County 4-H program coordinator.  “And those that have been flocked can certainly turn the tables on the original flocker!”

Several years ago, the leaders’ association invested in a number of the brightly feathered birds for the “flocking” fun, and recently discovered the flamingoes had been quietly nesting in their closet.

All proceeds of the fundraiser will benefit the Cass County 4-H program to enhance programming, provide college scholarships, and scholarships to programs like Citizenship Washington Focus, Exploration Days, Capitol Experience and local camps.

“How this works starts with a phone call to one of our flocking leaders (we have more than one in order to cover the entire county easily),” Witham said. “The caller gives a name and address of a business or friend that they would like to have ‘flocked,’ makes the arrangement for a donation, and voila! Within a couple of days a flock of beautiful pink flamingoes will magically appear on their front lawn. The flamingoes will remain for a very short visit and will leave as subtly as they arrived.”

Those interested in the fundraiser are asked to call or text (269) 414-0938 or (574) 215-6337. Requests can also be made via Facebook message to the Cass County 4-H Leaders’ Association page — @casscounty4hleaders.

“Please remember, this fundraiser is meant to be fun and not ill-willed,” Witham said. “Choose your intended ‘flockee’ carefully. There is so much going on in the world today, this is not meant to add any stress to anyone’s life.”