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Syndicated |
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Gretchen and John
Earley have been devoted to the work of the Butterfly Thrift Shop in
Bothell for the past 23 years.
When Northshore residents find themselves in an unexpected
predicament over making a payment to prevent an electricity shutoff or a
rental eviction, they have been able to rely on the Butterfly program
for an emergency grant that will buy time, hot water and keep a roof
over their heads.
It’s been the Earleys and a number of dedicated volunteers who
staff the local thrift shop and try each month to bring in more income
than their operating expenses, with any surplus going for those
emergency grants. Not satisfied with generating funds strictly through
its sales and as these “predicaments” continue to grow in our
community, the Butterfly has begun spreading its colorful wings in hopes
of luring a grant or two from community agencies.
Located across the street in downtown Bothell from the Bothell
First Lutheran Church, the Butterfly provides a depository for clothing
and household donations. These are sold at reasonable prices to anyone
looking for a bargain or to someone whose budget is fully stretched and
they’re working hard to get back on their feet.
The Butterfly, and the Earleys’ direction of its work, has not
gone unnoticed. In June they were selected “citizens of the year” by
the Greater Woodinville Rotary Club in recognition “of their many
years of service, unselfishly devoting their time to the successful
operation of a non-profit organization that provides important financial
assistance to those in need.”
Announcing at his club's annual
installation banquet that the club would donate $1,000 for Butterfly
grants, Rotarian Roger Stark described the Earleys' contributions
to the Butterfly:
“For the past 23 years Gretchen and John Earley have provided the
leadership to sustain the charitable good work of the Butterfly. They
have given countless hours to this program. The program is operated
entirely by volunteers as a social outreach project in which the
Butterfly provides $100 emergency grants to help those suddenly caught
in a bind about meeting rent and utility expenses. They resolve
situations in which individuals and families might be faced with
eviction or the shutoff of water, heat or electricity. “Most
of the grant applicants are referrals from social services agencies
lacking the ability or the resources to act quickly to solve an
emergency. The Butterfly uses a ‘grants committee’ of their
volunteers to review and approve all applications. They deal with a lot
of single parents who are ‘simply at the end of their rope.’ Many
come to the Butterfly as their last hope. “The
Butterfly provides a shop where clothing and household goods are
available at extremely reasonable prices. If a person out of work, for
instance, comes to the Butterfly for help, the Earleys make sure he or
she leaves with clothing suitable to make a good presentation for a job
interview.
“Gretchen has served as the manager and John is the treasurer and
unofficial maintenance superintendent. His job description includes
mowing the grass, shoveling off the entry walk in winter and handling
general repairs. Together they coordinate the volunteers who also give
their time for this worthy project.” Dr.
Stark added that his club will include the Butterfly as one of 11
beneficiaries of its annual charity fund-raising event in October “so
the Butterfly can count on even more community support to expand this
important work.” I asked
several people involved in the program how the program was named “The
Butterfly” and have come up with several possibilities. Certainly the
naming decision had nothing to do with ‘social butterflies’, the
thought that flies steal butter, or even that old, old belief that
butterflies in reality were larcenous witches in disguise. Nothing could be further from the truth. We like to
think it represents spreading one’s colorful wings wide and far to
cover the needs of anyone in need. When
asked about it, John Earley responded, "Butterfly comes from old
things get a rebirth”. He credited Helen Boas with the name given the
thrift shop when it opened in March, 1978.
In our August columns,
Northshore Citizen will report highlights of the visit of a French
teenager who spent the month of July navigating the Northshore with a
number of families. Young Pierre Mosse was in the U.S. exploring
landmarks his father visited when an exchange student here in 1964-65.
Next, it will be conversing with Lake Forest Park and Kenmore teenagers
who will be back from Ghana and their summer spent on a humanitarian
mission. Ah, youth!
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The Previous Columns July
6, 2005 June
18, 2005 June
4, 2005 May
18, 2005 May
4, 2005 April
20, 2005 April
6, 2005 March
16, 2005 March
2, 2005 February
16, 2005 February
2, 2005 January
19, 2005 January
5, 2005 December
15, 2004 December
1, 2004 Nov.
17, 2004 November
3, 2004 October
20, 2004 October
6, 2004 Sept
15, 2004 Sept.
1, 2004 August
18, 2004 August
4, 2004 July
21, 2004 |
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John
B. Hughes |
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Hughes
serves
as grand marshal |
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Hugo
and (425) 482-4076 |
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