Dreams Come True As Group To Empower Girls Wins $25K Grant

RIVERHEAD, NY — They won the grant! After days of public support and voting, the Butterfly Effect Project, a not-for-profit group aimed at empowering young girls, won $25,000 to help their efforts soar.

And that's not all: At a big "reveal" party in Riverhead Tuesday, the organization also won $17,000 from the Long Island Community Foundation.

“I am humbled and grateful. Beyond grateful," said Butterfly Effect founder Tijuana Fulford.

Karen McDonald, president of the BEP board of directors, was also overwhelmed. “Watching Tia accept the grants tonight and thinking all that has been achieved in the past four years made me realize the only thing bigger than her dream was her relentless passion and hard work to make it happen. She hasn’t just changed the lives of the girls in the program, she has literally changed our community. “

Cynthia Cichanowicz, vice president of the BEP board of directors, was joyful about the win: "It is unbelievable to think of how far we have come in just four short years. I remember digging into our pockets week by week in order to provide snacks as well as supplies for meetings and activities. Now, here we are tonight being awarded $42,000, which is unimaginable! Tia Fulford is truly a role model for all of us. We are so lucky to be sharing her vision in creating opportunities for these boys and girls."

The Butterfly Effect Project was one of 200 out of more than 2,000 organizations — and the only organization on Long Island — selected to compete for 40 $25,000 grants in a State Farm Neighborhood Assist competition.

The public was allowed to vote up to 10 times per day, for several days, in support of their favorite cause. Supporters voted daily in the nail biter contest, hoping to keep BEP in the running to win the grant.

The Butterfly Effect Project, a nonprofit, community-oriented organization which took flight in 2014, now has six chapters, 223 members, and three possible new chapters on the horizon.

The organization aims to give young girls the wings to fly and the tools to explore the world and its amazing opportunities through giving back and caring example.

"It was Tijuana's goal to start a totally free program that would empower young girls by giving them the tools to assist in achieving emotionally stable and self confident futures, in hopes of bringing forth a generation of women who are strong, independent and knowledgeable," the BEP website said. "The Butterfly Effect Project aspires to ensure that every girl enrolled in the program has a fair chance to broaden their horizons by eliminating obstacles such as mobility, cultural differences and finances."

In a heartfelt Facebook Live video, tears streamed down Fulford's face when she described the Butterfly Effect's metamorphosis from dream to reality. "When I started this program, I just wanted something for my girls, that they could feel included. I knew what it was like growing up — how I felt growing up," she said.

Her voice filled with emotion, Fulford went on: "A lot of people see the outside, they don't know the inside. When you're broken, no one can put you back together except for you. I was broken as a child. I had self-esteem issues, issues I allowed people to use, to dictate who I was, what I would be doing and where I would be going. Because I was broken and couldn't see my true self, certain things I did and decisions I made were not the best things for me."

Today, Fulford uses those past experiences, of growing up unpopular, of not fitting in, to show her girls a new path: "These are the things I teach my girls, your girls — our girls. I don't ever want them to look for validation outside; I want them to look inside themselves."

The road to launch BEP has been rocky, paved with financial strain and prayer. The award "put money and action and manpower" behind the support of a community, Fulford explained. "A lot of people don't know that there were times when the Butterflies had Christmas gifts but Tia's kids did not. I had times when I was coming to meetings and I had no gas — God sent me on hope and prayer," she said.

But the love of friends, the BEP parents, the community, and her dedicated board buoyed spirits, Fulford said, especially this year, when she left her well-paying job to help build the BEP full-time. Her husband and three children, she said, never wavered in their full support, despite the burden of financial strain. Others, "sneaker fairies," made sure the Butterflies, and her own kids, had nice footwear and new clothes. "These people believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself," she said.

Fulford also thanked community organizations and elected officials who supported BEP. "These people rallied behind a vision," she said.

The funds will be used for the infrastructure of the program, Fulford has told Patch. "We want this to be a viable program. Right now everyone is volunteers, including me. I have given all of me, my family and friends to keep this program thriving. We are at a place where we need to be able to have an operating budget." Winning the grant, she said, is a "game changer."

Her voice brimming with emotion, Fulford said: "This win was everything to me. I needed this win. The community needed this win. My family needed this win, because they gave up so much for me. The validation was real; the love was real — and we made it. I don't just thank you — I love you all."

And, her truth shining from her eyes and heart, Fulford said: "For the first time in my life, I don't feel broken. I feel whole."

BEP took root on March 8, 2014 with eight girls that came from the Riverhead and Flanders areas; today, there are girls involved who come from Riverhead, Flanders, Calverton, Mastic, Shirley, Bellport, Westhampton, Peconic, Patchogue and West Islip.

The girls have the option of attending meetings in Riverhead or Bellport; there are meetings every other Wednesday during the school year's 10-month program, twice per month in Riverhead, twice per month in Bellport. In addition, there are many BEP events, including educational trips to nurseries and other businesses, food drives, community service projects, classes in etiquette, cooking, hygiene and cultural awareness.

"Involvement in this program today will ultimately have a positive impact on their lives tomorrow," Fulford said.

BEP seeks "to empower the community, one girl at a time," said the competition's description of BEP.
"We create a safe environment for the girls to be girls, while learning and empowering them to be greater than their surroundings. We encourage the girls to join sport teams and after school clubs and assist the families with supplies, while showing up to show support at their events. . . Although many people may associate the East End of Long Island being a wealthy area, I assure that is not the case for many families. The areas we service are impacted by some of the highest poverty rates on Long Island as well as lack of diversity, engagement, mobility and, in most cases, opportunity," Fulford said.

Families, specifically in the Riverhead and Riverside areas, "have a really hard time with mobility as well as with engaging their children, as they predominantly come from single parent homes," Fulford said.

The funding will allow BEP the opportunity to bring children from the wait list into the program, she added.

The meetings are designed to "empower, engage, enhance, educate by doing estimable actions," Fulford said.

Speakers are invited to come and speak to the girls, she added. "This allows the girls the opportunity to see life from a different viewpoint as well as break down the cultural cocoon that many underserved communities build up."

Photos courtesy Cynthia Cichanowicz and Bruce McDonald.