Flamingos are taking over businesses as part of a fundraiser in 2026 for Dave’s Wish, a program that helps families facing hospice care pay for groceries, rent and other basics. Faithful Journey Home Care is behind the effort, and the pink birds are being used in a community game of tag that turns each stop into a new donation point.
Anyone who gives any amount can pick the next business to be flocked, and all proceeds go to Dave’s Wish. The campaign is trying to ease the burden for families at a time when end-of-life care can quickly become expensive, even before people start thinking about meals, fuel or time off work.
Dave’s Wish began in 2011, when David Wayne Schuchard was battling pancreatic cancer and wanted to make life easier for people going through hard moments. The effort has since helped loved ones travel from out of state to see dying relatives, and it has paid for respite care and caregiving support by bringing in caregiving companies to relieve family members.
Felica Rodriguez said families often come into hospice care unprepared for what they are about to face. “It’s stuff that they’re usually unfamiliar with. It’s their first time in all of this. It’s confusing, it’s overwhelming and it’s really hard to navigate. We just try to help however we can,” she said. About 1.8 million Americans enter hospice care every year, and while hospice is designed around compassion, the financial strain can hit fast.
The flamingos have made the fundraiser feel more like a game than a donation drive. Rodriguez called it “a giant community game of tag,” and Brianna Ahmische said the idea is to help families mark one more thing off a stressful list so they can keep going another day. Faithful Journey Home Care provides caregivers for seniors in their homes or during a hospital stay, and Dave’s Wish says it steps in with practical and caregiving-related expenses during end-of-life care.
Ahmische said the goal is simple: keep people as comfortable as possible for as long as possible. “It is all about dignity, quality of life, and making sure people can stay at home or stay comfortable as long as possible,” she said. That is the promise behind the flamingos, and the answer to what the fundraiser is meant to do: it is designed to put money directly into the hands of families who need help now.
