About The Fund
The families of Emily Barger and Maddie Harrill established the Butterfly Fund at the East Tennessee Foundation in memory of their daughters. Both of these beautiful little girls were diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of childhood cancer in 2007. Sadly, both of these girls passed away just weeks apart the summer of 2008.
The objective of the fund is to raise money to support local, regional and national pediatric cancer research, treatments and services, including East Tennessee Children's Hospital.
If you would like to make a donation, please submit your contribution to the following:
East Tennessee Foundation • 625 Market Square • Suite 1400
Knoxville, TN 37902
Please include "The Butterfly Fund" on your check.
Friday, April 24th, on behalf of the West Hills Baptist Church Preschool and Kindergarten, Richard Macon presented a check to the Butterfly Fund as a part of the proceeds from the annual Golf Tournament. Accepting the check on behalf of the fund are Maddie's parent, Chrissy and James Harrill. This day also marked the dedication of the playground in Maddie's honor.
Russell Biven from Channel 10 WBIR interviews the Harrill's after the dedication ceremony and fund contribution. To see more pictures from the day's events, click here.
Thanks for making the inaugural Black Tie Gala a huge success. Pictures are posted from this and other recent events on our Events Page. Check them out!
About Our Girls
Emily Barger and Maddie Harrill both fought against this disease with courage and grit amazing everyone around them. Visit their pages on this web site and view their tribute videos to learn more about these special girls.
More information will be posted on this site soon. Please check back frequently for updates. Thank you for your care and concern. Your support of this research means a great deal to many families.