Mugs on Main, Butterfly Effect Project turn summer sips into local support

Two of town’s pay-it-forward powerhouses — the Butterfly Effect Project and Mugs on Main — have teamed up for a signature summer drink designed to both quench thirst and give back to the community.

The Flutter-by Butterfly refresher, a combination of lavender, blackberry and lemonade, is available exclusively at Mugs on Main until September. The Main Street coffee and specialty cocktail shop is donating a portion of the proceeds to the Butterfly Effect Project.

“I just love the outreach that the Butterfly Effect Project does for the mentoring and the education that it’s providing to the community,” said Mugs on Main co-owner Kasandra Watkins Schaeffer. 

Tijuana Fulford, founder of the local nonprofit that empowers girls and boys — butterflies and dragonflies — liked the Mugs on Main vibe so much, she started holding open office hours there Wednesdays from noon to 2 p.m.

“Main streets are kind of the hearts of the community. We get cooped up in the office,” Ms. Fulford said. “I love what she’s [Ms. Watkins Schaeffer] creating, the hub of that spot. Now my staff is there, and the kids are starting to go there and our supporters. It’s a win-win,” she added.

The decision to partner came easily. Creating a signature drink for BEP took a bit more time.

“We sampled three or four different drinks and came up with the best one that fits with what the Butterfly Effect Project represents,” said Ms. Watkins Schaeffer.

Not a coffee drinker herself, Ms. Fulford said she wanted to create something that the butterflies and dragonflies could enjoy too. 

“It’s not too sweet and it’s not too bitter. I love having the blackberries in there. And the kids definitely approved,” Ms. Fulford added.

The drink is prominently listed on the chalkboard menu at Mugs on Main, with a medium-sized Flutter-by Butterfly costing $5.75. A large is $6.25.

While BEP spends much of the year fundraising, Ms. Fulford said summers are usually off. 

“We’re fundraising this summer because we have to. The need is so much higher; the price of everything is so much more expensive,” she said.

The funds received from sales of the Flutter-by Butterfly refresher at Mugs on Main will go directly to filling BEP’s community freezer. The program currently feeds 77 families — and roughly 376 people.

The meats in the freezer — from chicken and pork chops to hamburger meat — help members of the BEP community, its neighbors and seniors who are struggling financially.

“Once a month, they come and get a shopping bag and fill it up,” Ms. Fulford explained, adding that the process is dignified and private. She said the community freezer costs BEP roughly $1,500 a month.

Both partners in the Flutter-by Butterfly refresher have more than this fundraiser going on too. 

Ms. Watkins Schaeffer recently opened a second brew-based location inside Schmidts Country Market at 148 Jessup Avenue in Quogue, expanding the community vibe down to the South Fork.

Ms. Fulford is busy putting together the Butterfly Effect Project’s annual Juneteenth celebration on June 19 from noon to 3 p.m. and an America250 Independence Day celebration coming up on July 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.