Ebony Buckner and her 6-year-old son, Shamar, lived out of a suitcase for two years. To escape an abusive relationship, they bounced between short-term housing and women’s shelters, taking refuge where and when they could. Ebony and Shamar were first featured on Denver’s CBS4 news, where she explained that she took eight train or bus trips every day to get herself to work and her son to school. When local resident Anita Holland saw her story, she felt instantly compelled to help.

Together, Anita and CBS4 reached out to The Butterfly Foundation. We knew immediately that Ebony was an ideal recipient of aid from our organization since we exist to help those experiencing hardship or tragedy who may typically “fall between the cracks” of other charitable organizations. Within a month, we were able to move Ebony and Shamar into a new apartment, closer to her job and Shamar’s school and complete with brand new furniture from American Furniture Warehouse and CORT.

“Ebony just wants to be the best mother that she can be,” says Deborah Givray, Executive Director of The Butterfly Foundation.

“Now, she can stop worrying about their living situation and focus on her family and education.” As a hard-working single mother, Ebony puts her son Shamar above everything else; as a surprise, we also coordinated a total beauty makeover for her so that she can take a well-deserved moment to treat herself.

We are so grateful to CBS4 and Anita Holland for bringing us Ebony’s inspiring story and allowing us to help her carve a path to success.  To watch their story