Most Cary residents remember Nancy Cooper. She was a friend to many and her death left a scar on the face of the community. She was full of light and drew people with her magnetism. She almost always had a smile on her face and if she caught you without one, she was quick to notice. 

I believe Nancy would have been stunned by the staggering number of people who searched for her, cried for her and prayed for her. Many of those friends and community members are now working to do something spectacular in her honor.

Nancy’s Butterfly Fund was established to help women and children in our community overcome the financial obstacles of leaving an abusive relationship and is managed by Interact, a local nonprofit agency. In just over a month we’ve raised almost $18,000, with high hopes of raising a whole lot more.

The next fundraiser is the Inaugural Gala at Life Time Fitness on June 13 at 7:30 p.m. There will be plenty of fabulous food as Lucky 32, Whole Foods, Bistro 64, Baba Ghannouj and Wasabi have all committed to help.There will be waitstaff and bar staff from Lucky 32 who have offered to donate their time for the event. There will be plenty of beer, wine and cocktails thanks in part to Great Grapes and Anytime Wines. The fundraiser will include a Silent Auction with more than 50 items including jewelry from Baileys of Cameron Village, a one-year Life Time Fitness membership, a mountain vacation stay, numerous photography sessions, sports memorabilia, premier tickets for four to UNC football game/lunch, Tobacco Road wine party/wine, numerous fashion gift certificates and children’s items, spa packages and more. Two local bands, Finally Friday and Mid-Life Crisis, will be performing.

Importantly, there also will be a concierge table to coordinate safe rides home from the event.

We’re still selling tickets — our goal is to sell 400. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at Whole Foods on June 1 from 3-8 p.m. or June 6 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. or by e-mailing me at jessicaladam@gmail.com. Please join us on June 13 to remember Nancy and raise money for the fight against domestic violence in our community.

I’ll never forget Nancy or the friendship that we shared.

For further information, please visit nancysbutterflyfund.org.