Eastern Carolina Community Foundation Women in Philanthropy Fund Celebrate 2023 Grantees and Members on Giving Tuesday
Butler Academy was awarded a $4,900 grant for a new program to provide vouchers to families to help defray the costs of school uniforms. The award ceremony was part of the Eastern Carolina Community Foundation Women in Philanthropy Fund’s annual Giving Tuesday celebration.
“Women in Philanthropy’s support could not be more timely,” explained Butler Academy Co-Founder and Vice President of Operations Venesa Reyes. “We were fortunate to receive some early donations for our One Community Project, and these were spent at the beginning of the school year. But, as every parent knows, clothes that fit a child well in July, do not tend to fit nearly as well in December or January.”
According to the National Bullying Prevention Center, students cite appearance as the top reason for being bullied. With this fact in mind, Butler Academy created an income-based financial assistance program earlier this year, the One Community Project, to help families purchase new school uniforms. Even with the cost-savings that uniforms provide, for up to 70% of Butler’s families, even modestly priced uniforms are unaffordable. The average cost for enough uniforms to get a scholar through one week before having to launder them is $285. To meet the need for the 2023-2024 school year will cost $38,475.
“By discretely providing scholars with new, well-fitting uniforms, our school will be able to more effectively set a tone for excellence, discipline and respect and, at the same time, remove a host of distractions that stem from superficial socioeconomic differences,” Reyes added. “In short, this program helps our scholars to be better positioned for academic success!”
“I am pleased that Butler Academy has been selected by the Women in Philanthropy grants committee as one of our 11 grant recipients for 2023. Providing needs-based vouchers for school uniforms is a great project that fits perfectly with WIP’s mission,” Tiffany Straus, Women In Philanthropy President, said.
This year, the Eastern Carolina Community Foundation (ECCF) provided $116,000 in grant funding across the seven counties it serves. The ECCF Women in Philanthropy Fund committee received 46 grant applications from local nonprofit organizations this year and, besides awarding a grant to Butler Academy, also made awards to: CMD’s Pantry, Dillon County First Steps, Foster Care Clothing Closet, Lydia’s Bowels of Mercy, Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault, Pee Dee Hearing Center, Potter House Recovery, Senior Citizens Assoc. Florence County, Stirrup Hope and The Performing Arts & Science Academy.
Year-end gifts to support Butler Academy’s One Community Project can be made online at www.butleracademy.us/donate and are tax-deductible.
PHOTO: The Eastern Carolina Community Foundation Women in Philanthropy Fund Celebrates 2023 Grantees and Members at St. John’s Anglican Church in Florence on Giving Tuesday. Among the recipients pictured are Butler Academy’s Natasha Ducey and Barb Chappell.
