Today we’d like to introduce you to Paulette Fecunda.
Hi Paulette, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
From Heartbreak to Hope: A Mother’s Mission of Legacy and Love
By Paulette Fecunda
My name is Paulette Fecunda, and my journey is deeply rooted in the values instilled in me by my mother, Patricia Huewitt—a woman of strong faith, love, and perseverance. She taught me the importance of God, family, love and compassion. Her example helped shape the woman I am today: a wife, mother, sister, friend, mentor, motivational speaker, servant leader, and licensed minister.
But it was my daughter, Raven A’sahel Fecunda, who became my greatest inspiration.
At just 19 years old, Raven was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of cancer called Chondrosarcoma—a diagnosis that would alter the course of our lives. Sarcoma is a form of soft tissue or bone cancer. Which we have both so the cancer can literally be anywhere in the body. Ravens mother tumor began in her leg. While most would understandably respond with fear or despair, Raven met her diagnosis with strength, grace, and an unwavering faith. She chose to be a warrior, not a victim.
“If God allowed me to be an ambassador for this disease,” she once told me, “I will do it with honor and dignity.” She often repeated the powerful words: “Why not me?”
Raven was determined to turn her pain into purpose. She wanted to bring awareness to Sarcoma, support others going through similar battles, and shine a light of hope into the darkest corners of childhood cancer. From that vision, Raven A. Fecunda’s Sunflowers of Destiny was born.
Why sunflowers? Raven saw herself in the resilient, radiant flower. Sunflowers always turn to face the sun—standing tall through storms, never bowing or breaking. To Raven, they represented faith, hope, and strength. The name captured her spirit and the purpose she envisioned: to bring light and warmth to children and families in the midst of their own storms.
Together, we planned our first event—a 5K run/walk to raise awareness and support for Sarcoma patients. Just weeks before that event, Raven passed away on June 6. 2015.
My world shattered.
Everything in me wanted to quit. But in the silence of my grief, I heard both the Holy Spirit and Raven’s voice urging me: Don’t give up. Keep going. And so, in July 2015, we held our first 5K Run/Walk of Victory—a name Raven herself chose. This year marks our 10th annual event, a testament to the strength of her vision and God’s sustaining grace.
Inspired by Raven’s bravery, I returned to school to become a nurse. I had always been a leader in the banking industry, but this calling felt different—it was deeply personal. I wanted to be the change we didn’t always see in Raven’s medical journey: someone who treated every patient like family. I earned my ASC and a minor in Psychology from Dallas Baptist University. I walked that stage for both of us. Raven had dreamed of becoming a child psychologist to serve children with cancer. That dream lives on in me.
Today, I proudly serve in healthcare at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center while continuing to lead Raven A. Fecunda’s Sunflowers of Destiny as CEO and co-founder, alongside my husband and sons.
What began as one young woman’s dream has become a powerful legacy. Over the past decade, Sunflowers of Destiny has distributed a total combined of over 12,400 new socks, pajamas, books, and gift cards to local hospitals and families. Through our signature campaigns— “Keeping Literacy Alive with Books” and “Sowing Seeds with Socks and PJs”—we offer comfort, encouragement, and hope to children and families facing the unimaginable.
Our goal is simple: to remind families they are not alone.
This September, we will host our first annual Sunflower Ball—an opportunity to further our reach, increase awareness, and raise funds to expand Raven’s vision. We are currently seeking partners, sponsors, and donors to help us bring love and light to even more lives.
Raven fought too hard for us to stop. Her legacy is more than a foundation—it’s a ministry. It’s a lifeline for me on the hard days, a reminder that purpose can bloom even in pain. We give God all the glory for sustaining us through this journey. And we’re just getting started.
Because sunflowers never bow. And neither will we.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it has not been a smooth transition along the way. Being that this journey started as an emotional one, the impact of Raven’s loss and grief is always there. It is sometimes really hard to press forward with a broken heart but the mission of loving on other children is greater than my pain. I choose to walk in faith and not be consumed by fear and pain.
The other struggles are that of a grass root, non-profit organization and securing funding, donors, sponsors and financial support. It is personal for us, so we will always be engaged and involved. Cancer is already a hard and unpopular subject, so the obstacles are here. However, with God sustainability and family and friends we have made it to a decade this month. We are grateful.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am currently in the medical field as a certified patient care technician/ certified nurse assistant, and I am in school pursing my BSN/RN degree.
I currently work in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center. It is a critical care unit where the patients recover and wake up to be discharged or admitted as inpatients.
I am known as the “singing nurse, sunshine or sunflower.” That’s what my patients and colleagues refer to me as.
I am most proud of being recognized for my hard work and being nominated as Employee of the Year in 2024, Broders Healthcare Hero of the Year in 2024, I won the Rose Award, in which a patient and their family wrote a letter in regard to my care for them, I have received the nursing excellence award several years in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
What sets me apart from other caregivers is I treat my patients as if they are my family. I pray with them and for them. God has placed me with the patients at their most vulnerable moments and thats when His glory gets to shine. I am thankful to be used as an instrument of hope and love. I encourage them and speak life to them. I also am honored to do postmortem care and pray over the deceased bodies before they are sent to their final resting place. My job is not just a job, it’s a part of my ministry.
My role as CEO of the RAFSOD Foundation is also a ministry to me as I am able to pray, uplift, encourage and speak life to other mothers who are grieving and need someone to listen, or just hold their hands as they go through such tumultuous times. I am able to gift children and families with personal items that have a direct impact on them.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Some people that don’t know me well, may be surprised that I love to cook and bake. It is therapeutic to me, and it is something that I learned from my mother, grandmother, and auntie. I have a bloodline of women that had the gift of creating comfort foods for their family and friends and loved ones.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rafsunflowersofdestiny,org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rafsodfdn
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ravenafecundassunflowersofdestinyfoundation
- Twitter: https://x.com/rafsodfdn
- Other: https;//www.tiktok.com/@rafsod.foundation
Image Credits
Sylvia Powers
