NORFOLK, Va. — Inside Military Circle Mall, there’s a mural catching the attention of the community.
Artist, Stefon Penn, spent thirteen hours painting a butterfly last Friday. To him, every detail represents a bit of his hometown, Norfolk.
Even though he’s painted close to one dozen murals, this one is extra special.
“It means a lot to me,” said Penn. “I grew up in this mall. I remember coming to this mall when I was a kid, looking into the window displays at the artwork, and hoping one day that I have my artwork in the window display. Fast forward a couple of years and it’s here.”
Anita Jefferson reached out to him after the owners of the mall decided to take on a philanthropy project at each property they own.
Jefferson chose the ‘Butterfly Effect,’ it’s a non-profit that that donates money to a community program, chosen by the mall through a social media campaign.
The Butterfly Effect will donate five dollars to H.O.P.E Village for every post with the hashtag: MilitaryCircleButterfly.
The Salvation Army's H.O.P.E. Village is a six-month residential housing program that offers a full spectrum of supportive services to low and moderate-income single women and women with children in need.
“So, we chose Hope Village, which is the local Salvation Army shelter here, on behalf of women’s month,” said Jefferson.
For Hope Village to get a donation, individuals have to take a picture in front of the butterfly, post it on Instagram with the hashtag, and fill out a form. Anyone can find the form by clicking here.
H.O.P.E Village can get up to $1,000 from this fundraiser, the equivalent to 200 posts. The money will be used to go back to help women in the community.
Even though Jefferson said more murals will soon cover the mall, this butterfly means the most to her, the community and to the artist.
“It just makes me feel really good, myself, to have helped launch this. So, I’m excited,” said Jefferson.