Local homeless inspire do-gooder group
By Meliqueica Meadows
Of the St. Louis American
Founded just seven months ago, Beautiful Butterflies, Inc. is already making its colorful presence known. The charitable organization is still trying to find its legs, but its 11 members have already worked to provide food and clothing for the homeless and Katrina victims.
Recently the organization held a clothing drive for hurricane victims at Pete’s Shur-Sav. They gathered seven carloads of clothing that they donated to the United Way.
With all the focus on evacuees, Beautiful Butterflies also hopes to take care of the homeless right here at home.
“With everything going with Hurricane Katrina, I feel that if we can do it for them then we should be able to do it for our own community,” Beautiful Butterflies president Anita Rooks said.
Rooks, who works as a workman’s compensation claims representative, founded the organization with a group of friends. The women plan to spread goodwill across the metro area. She said her morning commute inspired her to serve.
“I work Downtown, and just going Market Street everyday you see these homeless people and that just irritates me,” she said.
“A couple of friends of mine got together, and I discussed it with them. They felt that it was a good idea for us to try to give back.”
The organization plans to give back by mentoring youth, hosting fundraisers for the less fortunate and hosting charitable and social events in the community. On October 18 Beautiful Butterflies will host a Sibling Night for young patients at St. Louis Children’s Hospital from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. Patients will enjoy refreshments and participate in a game night with their family members.
After the Sibling Night at the hospital, the organization plans to collect canned goods at the Bill Pickett Rodeo, October 22, to pass out to local homeless shelters.
“Right now, we’re trying to do a lot of different things. We’re going to have canned food drives with each of our employers, and we’ll be delivering food the week before Thanksgiving to different homeless shelters and families that we know that are in need,” Rooks said.
“In December we are going to try to do a toy drive, and we want to be mentors to young boys and girls who really don’t have the type of big brothers and big sisters they need.”
The next Beautiful Butterflies membership meeting is scheduled for October 28 at the P.F. Chang restaurant on Brentwood across the street from the St. Louis Galleria. For more information, call Anita Rooks at (314) 882-2955 or Marilyn Wright at (314) 749-1758.
