Do I need to be Christian or have been impacted by incarceration to receive help?
No to both, and we are so glad you asked! Although we are a Christian organization, we serve all communities equally, regardless of race, sex, or creed. The Butterfly Project is here for every family impacted by homelessness, poverty, and crisis, whatever the cause. Through this work we also raise awareness of incarceration, which can set these challenges in motion and weighs heavily on the entire family. Wherever your family is right now, we would love to walk with you. Start on our Get Help page, read more on Who We Serve, or reach out through Contact.
What are the light blue cards with a butterfly in the corner?
These are our education cards. Each one holds a fact or a piece of background that relates to the page you are reading, such as a statistic about veteran homelessness or a note about age requirements at senior living communities. The light blue color and the butterfly in the top right corner help you see at a glance that you are reading facts and education, not a resource listing. The butterfly may be pink, dark blue, purple, or orange, and its color is only decoration. The text on every card is dark on a light background so it is easy to read. When a card shares a statistic, it names the source so you can read the original. Numbers change, and early estimates may differ from final counts, so please check the source for the latest figures. Know a fact we should add or correct? Tell Us About It.
What is the difference between the Outreach Care Kit and the Home Starter Kit?
We make two kinds of kits. The Outreach Care Kit (PDF) is for neighbors without housing and is given out at our outreach events. It includes a sleeping bag and a tent, and disposable incontinence underwear. The Home Starter Kit (PDF) is for neighbors who have housing or are moving into a home. It is requested through Request Our Help and delivered to your door. It helps a family make a good, clean start with cleaning, kitchen, laundry, bedding, hygiene, and hair-care items, plus pads, tampons, and disposable incontinence underwear. Everything in both kits is brand new, and the Home Starter Kit does not include mattresses or bed frames. Brands may vary, but the contents will not.
Why do you provide incontinence underwear, but not bras, panties, or other underwear?
Our kits are practical and focus on essential items. Neighbors without housing often cannot get to a washer, a dryer, or a shower, so an accident is much harder to clean up, and clean clothes are hard to find. Disposable incontinence underwear can simply be thrown away and replaced, so it is the only underwear item we provide, and it must be disposable, never reusable. Neighbors with housing can also receive pads and tampons through the Home Starter Kit. We do not provide bras, panties, or other underwear, and we do not accept them as donations. See our Items We Do Not Receive.
What does The Butterfly Project provide?
We help with essential items and financial and emotional education for all families impacted by homelessness, poverty, and crisis. Most shelters need help supplying essential items, so we step in with essential items and supplemental support. Referral is part of our work: our Get Help pages connect you with the organizations that provide housing, shelter, rent and utility help, and more. But we are more than a referral service. We supply essential items and offer free financial and emotional education ourselves. We pay special attention to African American communities, which are disproportionately affected by homelessness and incarceration, and to women and girls, especially African American women and girls, with dignity essentials, hair-care and hygiene items, education, and health connections. Our help is for every boy, girl, man, and woman, from every community: Black, White, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, and more. We do not provide housing, shelter, or financial support beyond education at this time.
How do I get shelter?
In our region, shelter is reached through the hotlines or by working with a case manager. If you are experiencing homelessness or are within three days of losing your housing, call the Homeless Connection Line at 804-972-0813. Even leaving a voicemail with your contact information makes a big difference. Calling a shelter directly will not put you in line. Beds go first come, first served to people who went through the hotline and secured their place in line, then by availability and your unique needs, such as man, woman, or family. See Shelter for the full process.
What is a crisis service, and how is that different from what you do?
A crisis service gives immediate help when someone is in danger or in acute distress, such as the 988 Suicide And Crisis Lifeline, 911, and hotlines for situations like domestic violence. These are available right away, often at any hour. The Butterfly Project is not a crisis or counseling service. We offer everyday practical support, including essential items and financial and emotional education, and we help families find the right resources. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 any hour, or call 911 for an emergency. You can find local mental health support on our Health & Hygiene page.
Why is a provider I know about missing from your lists?
If a provider is missing, it is because we do not know of them, or because that provider has publicly failed as a provider by placing people in dangerous environments and situations. That includes mold, infestations of roaches, bed bugs, or rats, and other uninhabitable conditions. Virginia law requires landlords to keep rental homes fit to live in (Va. Code § 55.1-1220). It also includes providers who advertise one thing and do not provide it, such as offering housing but providing no bed or move-in items. We will also remove, or choose not to include, any provider that has displayed objectively rude, abusive, or overall unprofessional conduct.
We will not name or call out any provider. If we assess that an organization is more harmful than helpful, we will not promote it, even if it is listed in other resource tools. We are committed to transparency and to honoring the communities we serve, and we do our due diligence researching every resource we connect The Butterfly Project community to.
What is the difference between jail and prison?
Jail is run locally, by a city, county, or region. It usually holds people who have been arrested and are waiting for court, people who cannot pay bail, and people serving short sentences, generally less than a year.
Prison is run by a state or the federal government. It holds people who have been convicted and sentenced, usually to more than a year. In Virginia, state prisons are operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections.
A person may be moved from jail to prison after sentencing. Visiting rules, phone and video options, and how to send mail or money are different at each facility, so check with the facility directly. Details can vary by state. Learn more from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
What should I donate?
Please give only items that are on our Amazon Wish List, on our Donate page, or in the Outreach Care Kit and Home Starter Kit PDFs. If an item is not listed in one of those places, please do not donate it, even if it seems helpful. We are grateful for every item people give, but if an item is not an indicated need, we will not be able to use it, and neither will anyone else. Sticking to our lists makes sure your gift reaches a neighbor. Not sure? Ask us first.
Why don’t you accept used items?
Though we understand, from an environmental and empathetic perspective, why someone would want to give used items, nothing feels better than having something you can call your own. When something has been lived in, you feel it, and you can never fully settle into those shoes, that shirt, and so on. It is about giving back dignity and confidence while being considerate and respectful of each person’s experience.
Some people feel that because someone is in need, they should be grateful for whatever quality of item they receive. We respectfully see it differently: being in need does not lower the standard someone deserves. People can be deeply grateful and still deserve something good.
Used items we do accept:
- Gently used furniture, décor, and artwork with no stains or smells, from a smoke-free, bed bug-free, roach-free home, cleaned before donating
- Refurbished, working technology such as computers and tablets
- Used vehicle donations
We also gladly accept Bibles in AMP, CSB, KJV, NIV, NKJV, and NLT, including children’s versions. Everything else we ask to be brand new. See the new items we do accept on our Amazon wish list, and the full list of items we do not accept.
Where do you deliver, and where do you not?
We deliver to families in Chesterfield County, Colonial Heights, Goochland County, Hanover County (including Ashland), Henrico County, Hopewell, Petersburg, Powhatan County, Prince George County, and the City of Richmond. This area reaches about 30 miles from Chesterfield (ZIP 23832), north to Ashland. We do not deliver to New Kent, Charles City, Dinwiddie, Sussex, Surry, or Greensville County (including the City of Emporia), or to any area not on that list, even where part of it falls within that distance. If you live outside our delivery area, our Get Help pages can connect you with organizations near you, and you are welcome to join us at an outreach event. To ask for a delivery, visit Request Our Help.
How many requests do you take each month, and when does the form open?
Our goal is to provide care to 60 families every month: 30 families for groceries and 30 families for essential items (our Home Starter Kit). Each request type has its own 30 spots, and everything we provide is fresh and brand new: never expired, close to expiring, or opened. When the 30 spots for the type you chose are full, the request form tells you that the monthly request limit has been reached.
Families may choose groceries or essential items, but not both. This helps us reach as many families as possible. If you are not sure which one fits your family best, choose the one you need most right now.
The request form opens for the first time at 12:00 AM Eastern Time on January 1, 2027. After that, it opens at 12:00 AM Eastern Time on the first of every month and fills quickly. Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed on opportunities!
Requesting groceries and have a cat or a dog? Choose “I have a cat” or “I have a dog” on the request form and we will include dry pet food. Pets receive dry food only. To ask for help, visit Request Our Help.
What should I know about donations?
Are they tax-deductible? Yes. The Butterfly Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN 43-2593697, and all donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Can I give monthly? Yes. A monthly gift helps ensure we are consistently helping those in need. You can choose a monthly gift on our Donate page.
Do you offer refunds? Donations are non-refundable. Every gift is put to work right away for the families we serve. If you made a mistake or were charged incorrectly, please contact us within 24 hours of your gift and we will be glad to help. See our Terms of Service for the full refund policy.
I donated and received a gift in the mail. Is this for me? Yes, it is for you! It is our way of saying thank you. We are so grateful for you!
Who counts as a volunteer? Volunteers extend, not replace
Volunteers extend the work of our small team. They never replace paid staff. Here is how we tell the difference.
A volunteer:
- gives time to a civic, charitable, or humanitarian cause;
- serves less than full time;
- chooses to serve freely, without pressure or coercion;
- does the kind of work volunteers typically do;
- does not receive, or expect, pay or benefits; and
- does not take the place of any employee.
Is not a volunteer:
- someone giving time to benefit a for-profit company;
- someone working full time or overtime;
- someone who feels pressured or required to take part;
- someone doing work normally done by a paid employee;
- someone who receives, or expects, pay or benefits; or
- someone whose work displaces an employee.
If your employer, school, or program asks you to volunteer, please tell us so we can make sure it is your choice. Our Volunteer Policy explains employment status, minors, expenses and taxes, liability, safety, licenses, and reporting concerns. To get started, visit Get Involved.
How can I volunteer, become a sponsor, or reach you?
A sponsor is an individual, family, business, church, school, or organization that makes a significant, ongoing gift to support our work and is recognized for it. Sponsors help us reach more families and keep supplies moving. Sponsors are promoted on our website at all times. We would love to hear from you! Visit Get Involved or Contact us. Call 804-685-8801 or email info@the-butterfly-project.org, Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 3 PM. We are closed on all major holidays and on biblical holidays such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and we observe a weekly Sabbath rest. We are an ecumenical Christian organization. In a fast-moving world, we believe in slowing down and resting, and we are committed to providing these resources so those in need can rest too.
