Spiritual, financial support for terminally ill focus of Fort Worth nonprofit
Robin Byrd remembers the moment the doctor told her that her cancer was back.
Byrd, 65, was first diagnosed with lung cancer in 2018. After rigorous rounds of chemotherapy, the Fort Worth resident thought she had finished her journey with the disease. That all changed two years ago when she found out the cancer had reappeared, this time in her other lung.
Byrd had to make a decision whether to undergo chemotherapy again or forgo the treatment — ultimately accepting her condition as terminal. Having experienced the regimen to get rid of the cancer the first time, she didn’t want to do it again. She chose the latter option.
While receiving hospice care at her home in West Meadowbrook, Byrd had one wish: to see her mom before the disease progressed too far for a visit. A task easier said than done.
She lived about a half-hour away from her mother’s nursing home in Keller. However, Byrd uses a wheelchair and does not have transportation or the means to rent a van big enough for her wheelchair and oxygen tank.
When Byrd shared her request with one of the hospice nurses, they connected her to Project 4031. The Fort Worth faith-based nonprofit aims to provide peace and comfort to terminally ill children, adults and their families facing end-of-life challenges by easing financial burdens and fulfilling last wishes. Over the summer, volunteers with the nonprofit transported Byrd to see her mother, making a dream come true.
“We were so happy. She just cried,” Byrd said about the visit with her mother. “She told me how much she missed me, and we sat down and ate a meal together.”
The nonprofit was founded by Fort Worth couple Kristina and Josh Robertson. Josh grew up in a home of health care providers. As a high school student, he lived on-site at a small assisted living facility his parents operated. Such experiences led him to start a hospice-focused medical equipment business after college.
The couple’s date nights sometimes included delivering medical equipment to people in need, often facing terminal illnesses. The Robertsons would meet families and hear about the challenges they were experiencing, offering to pray with anyone who was comfortable with that.
These moments sparked an ongoing conversation between Kristina and Josh on how the two could make a difference for those facing the end of life along with the loved ones caring for them. In 2011, the two officially launched Project 4031.
The name Project 4031 derives from the Bible verse Isaiah 40:31, which references how those who “hope in the Lord” will renew their strength and overcome difficulties and challenges through God.
“I hope that we’re planting the seeds, and that the Holy Spirit and the Lord will take it from there,” Kristina Robertson said.
Byrd is one of many who have received assistance from Project 4031. The nonprofit partners with hospitals and hospice companies to help patients across North Texas who are facing their last six months of life. In 2024, Project 4031 reported serving 229 people.
Its Funding for Families program budgets about $800 per patient to help with basic needs such as food, utilities and rent. The financial assistance is a one-time service to help such families in a moment of crisis. In some instances, the nonprofit is able to offer a second opportunity, depending on the situation, program director Nicole Herlin said.
The Fulfilling Dreams program helps with humble requests: a trip to the aquarium, an outing to a special place, or a visit to see a loved one, as in Byrd’s case.
Project 4031 has a volunteer-based program called Wings, where people create what nonprofit leaders call “love offerings,” such as cookies or floral arrangements, and deliver them to local patients and their families. Some volunteers train for the Share the Care group, where individuals offer companionship to hospice patients.
Society at large is not comfortable talking about death, Herlin said. That can make navigating a terminal illness an isolating experience for patients and their caregivers, she added. The resources the nonprofit offers are intended to acknowledge and honor the dignity of someone facing the end of life, she said.
“Life is still sacred at the end. And there can be a lot of beauty in that as well. A lot of opportunities for families to come together,” Herlin said. “By keeping the lights on, by keeping the electricity, you know, the air conditioning running right, by keeping people housed, by keeping people fed — it allows those beautiful moments to happen without the stress of the financial burden.”
Before Project 4031 volunteers picked up Byrd, she made sure to make her mom’s favorite dishes: a family chicken stew recipe, cornbread and strawberry jello pie.
The mother-daughter duo sat together and broke bread, sharing memories of the past. Byrd doesn’t know if she would have been able to see her mother without the help.
“Just making her happy is what made me happy,” Byrd said. “I love her.”
Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org.
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