If you’re from Texas, you may have known us as “H-E-B Camps.” That’s a misnomer—while the Butts launched and have given generously to the foundation, H-E-B and H. E. Butt Foundation are separate organizations with distinct missions (H-E-B runs its own community initiatives). You can call us H. E. Butt Foundation, though most people refer to us by the name of the program they use the most.
The H. E. Butt Foundation was established in 1933 by Howard Butt and Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth. At its inception, the Foundation focused on literacy through public school programs and libraries. They also funded recreational and child care facilities and a program to diagnose and treat tuberculosis.
The H. E. Butt Foundation is an operating foundation with five primary programs located near the headwaters of the Frio River just north of Leakey, Texas: the H. E. Butt Foundation Camp, Laity Lodge, Laity Lodge Youth Camp, Laity Lodge Family Camp, and the H. E. Butt Outdoor School. The Foundation also continues to explore new initiatives to serve vulnerable communities in San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country.
