HAMPTON, Va. — Community members came together Saturday at the Boo Williams Sportsplex for the Butterfly Walk for Lupus and Fibromyalgia, the largest annual fundraiser for the Social Butterflies Foundation.
“This is our flagship fundraiser where we unite people in the community, lupus thrivers, fibro thrivers, their families, supporters, community resources, and we come together to raise awareness for two illnesses that receive little to no attention at all but devastate so many lives,” said Chastity Corbett, founder and CEO of the Social Butterflies Foundation. “We’ve been doing the walk since 2019.”
The event began outside a Newport News stadium but moved indoors last year to better accommodate participants.
“The sun is really not good for us, so the light bulb came on like, why are you doing this outside?” Corbett said. “So we had to bring it inside because we care about the health of those that we're serving.”
This year’s event brought more than 50 volunteers, with groups like Virginia Oncology, Project Discovery and Cerra sending people to help.
“We had different groups… They sent quite a few kids out to come help out and get community service hours in,” Corbett said.
The Butterfly Walk raises money to assist those living with lupus and fibromyalgia, and Corbett said the donations are vital.
“We need the donations. We encourage the donations. No amount is too little because there’s so many… just suffering in silence,” Corbett said. “Nobody should have to choose between the help and where the next meal is coming from, so we try to make sure that we fill those gaps in services and help them out the best we can, but we need the public to help us so we can help them.”
Supporters can donate at socialbutterfliesfoundation.org or register to walk virtually through butterflywalkforlupusandfibro.org for six weeks following the event.
“The more you raise, the higher the reward level you reach,” Corbett said, adding that even small recurring donations make an impact.
Actress Tina Lifford, known for her role as Aunt Vi on the television series Queen Sugar, served as Grand Marshal.
“On the television show Queen Sugar, I played Aunt Vi, and Aunt Vi introduced to the world the disease of lupus that a lot of African American women, and women in general actually, suffer with,” Lifford said. “Before Queen Sugar, I didn’t know anything about that disease. So when my character contracted the disease, it gave me the opportunity to learn more about it and understand the ache and the challenge and the heroic efforts that people who live with this disease work from day to day.”
Lifford also hosted a book signing during the event. The first 50 people who registered received a free copy.
“She walked with us. She actually committed to 10,000 steps today, and she did her 10,000 steps,” Corbett said.
Lifford called the event “a fun and exciting and gratifying experience.”
“You’ve got community here — people who don’t know one another but they are brought together for a cause that they all have,” Lifford said. “That’s the emotional interest in somebody that they love is dealing with this disease and that brings everyone together and then it has been so well run, you know, from the moment you are greeted at the front door to the music to the walk.”
She urged people to continue the conversation about lupus and support those living with it.
“We are all stronger together and whether you know someone in your life who has lupus or not, you probably know someone in your life who has lupus because it’s a violent disease that is just now being discussed,” she said. “Be curious about it… and if you have someone in your life who is struggling with the disease, reach out and just ask the simple question, ‘How are you feeling today?’ or ‘Is there anything I can do?’”
This article was researched, reported, and written by a WTKR News 3 journalist. AI was used to minimize typos and ensure style continuity.
