BUNA, Texas — Two Buna teens did something pretty unique to raise money for the Alzheimer's Association.
It's called "flocking," and ended up creating a buzz all over Buna.
"I just thought it was cute," Buna HS senior Lexi Gibson said. "It was a lot more work than I thought it would be."
This method of fundraising got started when Gibson was assigned a service project for National Honors Society at school.
"We chose Alzheimer's because my grandmother has Alzheimer's. She's had it for quite some time," Gibson said.
The idea of flocking is to encourage others to donate money in exchange for having the flamingos removed.
So, during the month of November (Alzheimer's Awarenss Month) Gibson and her friend Anna Castillo-Deleon would sneak through yards of homes and businesses during nighttime and plant the flamingos.
For $20 toward the Alzheimer's Assocation, the two girls would come remove the flamingos and move them to another property.
They also created a $25 Flamingo insurance, meaning that property would not be flocked again.
Donations weren't mandatory and if someone couldn't pay, Gibson and Castillo-Deleon would just come pick the pink birds up.
"It meant more each time we got money or checks from people," Gibson said. "It meant more because we were actually out doing stuff instead of letting sign their name on a piece of paper to get a t-shirt."
Last year, Gibson chose to sell shirts for her service project in support of the Alzheimer's Association.
The girls tells 12News the process of flocking was difficult and relied on each other to make it work.
"We've been friends for awhile and if it means something to her than I was going to be able to help her," Castillo-Deleon said.
Gibson says the experience turned out to be quite exciting for both friends.
"Sneaking around 8:00 at night around town, flocking and getting chased by multiple dogs," Gibson said.
"I remember this one house that she sent me an address to," Castillo-Deleon added. "I had no clue if it was the right house or the wrong house so I just went with my gut."
The teen's mission quickly caught on with help from businesses.
"Having the flamingos in their yard really spread awareness that that's what we were doing and it's not just a bunch of kids running around being crazy," Gibson said.
Others took it a step further and created flamingo designed koozies called Lit Handlers.
When the class project ended, Gibson and Castillo-Deleon raised $740 for the Alzheimer's Association.
"It was a whole lot more than expected," Gibson said.
Gibson's grandmother has a tough time fully understanding words and holding a conversation with her Alzheimer's, but Gibson knows her hard work is worth it.
"She'd be super proud, I know that," Gibson said.
Even though the project is complete, both girls want to continue "flocking" for Alzheimer's and other causes.
If you have an idea or want to be a part of the girls' next "flock," you can email both girls at glexi247@gmail.com or acastillodeleon@icloud.com.
