Creative fundraising gets a bird’s-eye view

“(Jesus) said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” 

— Matthew 16:14-16

New International Version

 

How would you feel if you woke up one morning and found a flock of plastic pink flamingos in your front yard?

A first sighting of the birds, and a sign saying “Flocked for Guatemala,” at Hester Bourdier’s home earlier this week suggested a connection to world missions. Bourdier’s story about how she got involved with the unique fundraising activity led to more stories of confirmation.

“Too funny,” Paul Schexnayder said. “I didn’t even know they were there until I passed in front of my house going to work in my car.  I had to pull over. I immediately called my wife and said, ‘We have flamingos in our yard!’ I thought my son put them there. He’s going to Guatemala also. But, the one who put them there is going with her church.”

The “one who put them there” was Amanda Hankenhof, a junior from Catholic High School, the daughter of Dr. Robert and Angelle Hankenhof III. She is traveling to one of the larger cities in Guatemala with a multi-church United Methodist mission trip. Harrison Schexnayder, a senior at CHS, is going with a Catholic sponsored team. The result will be the same — a life-changing experience.

Each missionary must raise his or her own funds, the same as adults in the mission field locally or internationally. Hankenhof has sold out of 200 string bracelets purchased online for fundraising, but she’s really enjoying the flamingo caper. 

“I started with Ms. Jerre Borland a couple of weeks ago, and then she paid (a donation) to put them in someone else’s yard. I’ve been keeping it going from there,” Hankenhof said. “I have two sets to move around. I prefer keeping the train going because it’s not as complicated.”

Her mother was anxious about the 17-year-old leaving the country. She will be the first of the family to travel outside the U.S., but the confident and persuasive teen won.

“We’ll find out when we get there what we’ll be doing,” the young Hankenhof said. “We filled out a questionnaire of our interests and when we get down there, we’ll see what needs to be done. They’ll say, ‘You go here, you go there.’ ”

She has been on local mission trips within the state and weeklong trips to Florida and Oklahoma with her youth group at First United Methodist Church of New Iberia. Those trips usually involved helping with church restoration or conducting summer programs for children.

“We went to Florida and held a VBS for a week for some local children who didn’t have the opportunity to be exposed to Jesus,” Hankenhof said. “That was a lot of fun.”

There will be seven teenagers and four adults on the trip under the sponsorship of a Baton Rouge Methodist church.

“We all know each other. We just decided to go under this one church,” Hankenhof said. “It’s exciting because you get to meet so many new people.”

Hankenhof is mature in her goals for taking the trip. It’s not a vacation but a working exploratory adventure with a purpose. 

She wants to major in international business in Spanish with a double major. This trip is both for missions and to see if the life choices she’s looking into are on track.

“Definitely an eye-opener, hopefully coming back able to do different things with my church to become more active in the community. Even though we’re just New Iberia, there is a lot of stuff that we can do,” Hankenhof said. “I’ll be appreciative of running water.”

Hankenhof got the idea about the fundraiser from Pinterest. After discussions with her mom, online purchases for flamingos from Walmart and signage thanks to family friend Farrah Trim at Advertec, she was ready to flock the neighborhood.

“It was a great idea for a really good cause and certainly creative,” said Jerre Borland. “It’s always a good feeling to give to something you believe is a good especially in such a fun way. She really is creative and that kind of ingenuity is what Berry Queens is all about, making fundraising fun.”

The stealth deliveries or pickup can happen at any time. She coordinates them by what she knows about the person. In Borland’s case, Hankenhof knew the family’s after school schedule and made the most of it. Borland then hit another BQ, Kesea Varnado. Another friend of the BQs, Jason Bayard, got flocked but it took many trips around the block until his car was gone.

Once a person is flocked, in order to have the birds removed, they have to donate to the cause $15 for removal, $25 for removal with relocation to a specified location, or $40 for removal, relocation and insurance that you won’t be flocked again. To get into the flock, you must have been flocked. Donations without birds are accepted through First United Methodist Church, designated for Amanda Hankenhof. 

Prayers are appreciated, she said.