About

The Butterfly Foundation a 501(c) (3) non profit organization.  We are in the business of human development. Our goal is to change the odds against economically challenged individuals and families in the areas of education, job readiness and training and adequate housing.

MISSION

The Butterfly Foundation will work to empower, transform and transition the lives of economically challenged individuals and families in order to help them become self-sufficient and self-confident citizens of Spartanburg County.

BRIEF HISTORY

Founded in 2007, The Butterfly Foundation is in the business of human development by providing (life coaches) to our participants to assist in the areas of education, job readiness and training, and adequate housing. In 2008, The Butterfly Foundation provided training in the areas of homeownership, budgeting, credit repair and applying for loans. We take pride in establishing partnerships with other agencies in the community to give our participants every opportunity to succeed. We currently partner with agencies such as: Greenville Housing Development, Fatherhood Coalition, Workforce Investment Board, and The Urban League of the Upstate. We partnered with Upstate Homeless Coalition and were awarded $319,000 to begin the Butterfly Housing Assistance Program (BHAP) in the Fall 2010. We currently house eleven individuals and families and provide supportive services in the counties of Spartanburg, Greenville, and Anderson, South Carolina. This program provides permanent housing for individuals and families with disabilities in Spartanburg County.  

The Butterfly Foundation has also partnered with The City of Spartanburg and The Mary Black Foundation to implement The Culinary Job Training Program. The goal of the program is designed to prepare the unemployed, underemployed, previously incarcerated and homeless adults for careers in the food service industry. Ten to twelve students participate in a twelve week culinary program.  Two sessions have been completed as of June 2011. Twenty-three students have successfully completed the program and twenty-one are currently permanently employed. Through our partnership with Spartanburg Community College, students completing the Culinary Job Training Program can exempt up to ten credit hours of their two-year culinary program. A recent collaboration with Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) now allows the Butterfly culinary students to provide lunch twice a week. The Hub Farmer's City Market has been gracious enough to allow the use of their fresh produce truck every week to transport and sell meals. The continual success of BHAP and the Culinary Job Training Program is due to our ongoing partnerships with local agencies, city municipalities, and the community members.