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During Fill the Hill, we wear pink

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Once a year, Badgers swap in a lighter shade of red in support of Fill the Hill, a Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA) day-of-giving initiative that celebrates the UW–Madison community. The event traces its roots back to 1979 when members of a satirical student government party planted plastic flamingos across Bascom Hill. Since then, the lawn ornaments have taken on a new tradition with the purpose of supporting UW’s most pressing needs. 

A family stands on Bascom Hill across from the Bucky Badger mascot. A woman tosses rings towards plastic flamingos planted in the ground.
Katie Cole plays ring toss with Bucky as plastic pink flamingos adorn Bascom Hill for Fill the Hill. The annual fundraising event is hosted each autumn and involves placement of pink flamingos on the lawn as a way to visually represent the number of campaign donations received that day. Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–Madison
A woman stands next to a young child wearing a flamingo costume and leans over a fountain to grab a pink flamingo floating in the water.
It’s eyes on the prize for 16-month-old Jaime McFadden who patiently waits for her mom Natalie to scoop a rubber flamingo from the Hagenah Fountain on Library Mall. Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–Madison
A person wearing a pink flamingo costume stands on Bascom Hill among plastic flamingos planted in the grass.
Julianna Thurs poses in a flamingo costume among hundreds of plastic pink flamingos adorning Bascom Hill. Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–Madison
Two students stands next to a fountain to grab a pink flamingo floating in the water.
Fourth-year undergraduates Emma Cass (left) and Ella Elklund (right) go fishing for rubber flamingos on Friday afternoon. Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–Madison
Three students wearing pink sit on among the flamingos on Bascom Hill. One of the girls holds up a phone to take a selfie of the small group.
Fourth-year undergraduates Ashley Baker, Mir Ramisa Raiyan Rose and Amara Ahmad take a selfie among the lawn ornaments that have become part of school lore over the past four decades. Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–Madison

Tags: campus life, recent sightings, Wisconsin Alumni Association

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