In June of 2015 two local women, Eileen Parks and Becky Clift approached the Butler Ministerial Alliance to the possibility of starting a Community Cafe in Butler. It was agreed upon, and all stated this was an opportunity for businesses, civic and church groups, school organizations, and a cadre of friends to volunteer for community service. The Cafe has no funding source and continues to operate entirely on donations from the community.
The Cafe provides a free meal every Tuesday at various locations and is open to the public free of charge with no income guidelines. Their motto became Food, Fun, and Fellowship.
Since its inception, the following businesses and group have sponsored a meal for which we are so grateful: Butler City Council, Butler Police Dept, Butler Fire Dept, Community First Bank, Osage Valley Electric, Butler Rotary Club, Lyons Club, BCCW, Carpenter’s Cup Bookstore, Cattlemen’s Association, Butler Elks Lodge, Midwest Lumber, Walmart Community Outreach Group, Good Shepherd Hospice, World Finance, Heather Diehl Insurance Company, various Butler 4H Groups, Outdoor Girls, Butler Boys Scouts, and the Hertzog Meat Company.
We now have three permanent volunteers: Cliff Lawrence of Cliff’s Carper Cleaning, Deb Ellis, activity director at Butler Senior Center, and military veteran John McHenry. Each Tuesday, the Cafe is hosted by a different “blue shirt” Board member: Holly Rabourn, Becky Clift, Eileen Parks, Carolyn Jett, Jan Lowe, and Susi Serna.
We are so grateful for the patronage and continued support each week by our little community. Friendship are formed, birthday and anniversaries are celebrated, and then the fun continues with an excellent meal. We have been blessed for eight years now and pray we continue Food, Fun, and Fellowship for many more.
