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The flamingos have flown away …
… but they’ll be back in 2026! Didn’t get your gift in before the buzzer? That’s okay! You can still make your gift below.
Thank you to everyone who helped make Fill the Hill 2025 such a fun, successful day of support for the UW. We couldn’t have done it without you! It’s because of proud Badgers everywhere (and Badgers at heart!) that the UW can keep moving forward.
How did we do?
We’re tickled pink! More than 2,900 flockstars came together to FUNdraise $752,627 — and counting! We filled the flock with 4,474 flamingos (that’s a new record!), and each one is about to make a real difference in someone’s life. Flock on, Badgers!
The Hilarious History of Fill the Hill
As the 1979–80 school year was about to begin, members of the now-famous Pail and Shovel Party came up with an idea: to welcome incoming students (and give them a preview of the silly side of college life) with a sea of 1,008 pink plastic flamingos on Bascom Hill. Why 1,008? Because they wanted to say they put out “more than a thousand” and the flamingos only came in packs of 12.
In 2023, former Pail and Shovel president Jim Mallon ’79 and party member Stu Baker ’80 shared the story of how that absurd idea led to an iconic moment that is re-created every year with the Fill the Hill event, sponsored by the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA).