S H O R T S H O R T S •
17
ONE NIGHT WITH HELEN
A Son’s Desire to Help His Mother Evolved into an Annual Fundraising
Auction
WHEN Tony Butler’s mother, Helen, was diagnosed with stage 3
lung cancer in 2005, the Wrightsville Beach surfer put the call out
to the community: “My mother has been diagnosed as terminally
ill and (due to a job loss) my parents have no medical insurance.”
Friends of the family did what friends do. They helped, launching an effort
called Hope for Helen. They raised more than $58,000, including $39,000 from a
silent auction.
Butler’s efforts didn’t stop following her October passing. Instead, armed with
his mother’s blessing, he increased his commitment. Butler changed the fundrais-ing
event’s name to Hope from Helen, acquired 501(c) (3) status, and continued
raising money for others primarily through a silent auction held every December
except 2018 which was canceled in Hurricane Florence’s wake.
Hope from Helen has funneled more than $1 million to a vast and varied list
of nonprofits. The causes range from local to global, and include health, educa-tion,
animal welfare, the environment, and individuals and families in need. They
include the obvious like
Surfers Healing and SurfAid,
to everything from Coastal
Therapeutic Riding and
Southport/Oak Island Animal
Rescue and Wrightsville
Beach’s first responders, sea
turtle protection, farmers’
market, recycling stations and
movie nights. Other beneficia-ries
have been Adopt an Angel,
the American Cancer Society,
the ALS Foundation, and fund-ing
for Wilmington’s least-of-these
in the form of children’s
Christmas gifts.
Months go into the plan-ning
for the one-night event,
Tony Butler dances with his mother, Helen, on his
wedding day in 2003.
including securing donations
of art, surf merchandise and
other cool stuff. Silent auction
participants enjoy free food served by Tower 7 each year.
Butler’s contributions to the Wrightsville Beach community go beyond Hope
from Helen. He owns an online surf report that is updated several times a day and
viewed by surfers and watermen from hundreds of miles away. One of his advertis-ers
shared that he doesn’t track nor care about the results of his ad. He makes the
investment because it’s Butler’s site. That’s the type of love the tight-knit commu-nity
has for him. — Clark Anderson and Pat Br adford
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
Wrightsville Beach Museum
Board of Directors and commu-nity
participants who represent
a cross-section of those who
have been a part of Wrightsville
Beach water sports through-out
the decades. There is an
emphasis on diversity of gener-ations
and sports.
Walker is a University of
North Carolina Wilmington
graduate and a long-time resi-dent
of Wrightsville Beach. He
and McCarley took a passion
for the difficult and often dan-gerous
work of a commercial
diver and grew it into a thriving
international business.
What began as local dives
progressed to commercial
marine construction projects
and consulting throughout the
world and a private port just
south of the state port.
A total of $7,500 was
raised at the reunion for the
museum’s waterman’s room
at the new Bordeaux Cottage
museum extension and visitor’s
center which honors everyone
in the hall of fame.
— Pat Br adford
COURTESY TONY BUTLER
Commercial diver and
philanthropist Kevin Walker
was honored during the
Friends of Wrightsville Beach
Reunion at the Wrightsville
Beach Museum of History
on November 9. His busi-ness
partner, Mike McCarley,
donated a diving helmet to
the museum to mark the
occasion.