The York Butler Fund is a donor assisted fund adminstered through the Middlesex County Community Fund. It's mission is to assist and fund aritistic endeavors in the community. As York was a copper craftsman and artist, fountains his specialty, financial gifts from the York Butler Fund are contributed to enhance creative expression of all mediums; craftsmen, artists, writers, designers, musicians, and dancers for education, performance, and unique local project opportunities.

During the time York was struggling with advanced third stage lung cancer, I felt useless and struggled with what could I do, how could I be of service to my brother?

Staring into no where, I Asked, and what came was an inspiration, more of a command, to pick up a Sharpie pen. I don’t draw people, but what came were these characters with things to say. I called them Birds of a Feather. I drew as commanded and then raced to my home studio and started water coloring these first starts.I drew every morning and water colored late into the night. Some days the ‘Birds’ flew out at forty an hour. This kind of creative madness stayed at peak for four months at which time I stopped to count. There were 2,483 of them. For a $ 25.00 contribution for an original ‘Bird’ drawing, we soon had donations of over $10,000. The ‘Birds’ had locally become the gift to give for Christmas 2006.”

The real gift of this project was a yet deeper bonding between brother and sister. After York’s passing, July 17, 2007, it became clear that these ‘Birds’ wanted to continue to express and share in other ways. JillsBirds’nWords® ad their tag line” Human Nature in all its Splendor® became major voices in the book, CREATE THE SPACE YOU DESERVE. Still others are embellishing seminar materials for major corporations like GE, appear on visionary training manuals, and consumer products. For every JillsBirds’nWords product, trading cards or or usage fees collected, a portion goes to the Fund. For every dollar contributed, please know that you are contributing to a greater cause in a very direct and personal way in support of those in the Creative Arts. For more information contact JillButler@JillButler.com.