The Stone and Holt Weeks Foundation has a meaningful and multilayered relationship with the Greater Washington Community Foundation (GWCF). Our nonprofit status and administration are provided through the GWCF, which allowed us -- in our trauma --  to print in the program of the National Cathedral Memorial for Stone and for Holt in 2009, "In lieu of flowers, the family requests that tax-deductible donations be sent to The Stone and Holt Weeks Foundation c/o The Greater Washington Community Foundation...."

Tragically, that is how our Foundation began.

Today the GWCF does so much for our Foundation. They vet every organization we contribute to and they handle all accounting and taxation matters. For every donation to The Stone and Holt Weeks Foundation, 98.9 percent goes straight to the good causes we support. The other 1.1 percent goes to GWCF for their help. All other work is done by volunteers.

In broad strokes, we support key initiatives of GWCF, such as combatting homelessness and looking for other ways to stand up for vulnerable people everywhere. Our mission is a part of their overall mission of helping make the world a better place for all. GWCF oversees numerous non-profit, philanthropic entities -- we are joined together with them in the spirit of doing for others.

This year in late summer, we were moved by an invitation to sign, with others, an open letter from GWCF calling on its family of nonprofits to stand together in the face of an assault on the District of Columbia -- and charity work in general -- by the White House. The letter read, in part:  

Recent federal actions targeting DC – including the deployment of National Guard troops, seizure of the DC Metropolitan Police Department, and withholding of over $1 billion in local funds – threaten our city’s public safety and critical services as well as our autonomy and right to self-govern, authorized by the United States Congress.

As the region’s philanthropic, business, nonprofit, and faith leaders dedicated to strengthening our community and supporting all residents, we believe that any strategies and investments from the federal government should build on progress made and what is working to address community needs:

We invite philanthropic, business, nonprofit, and faith leaders to sign on to the statement below to join us in supporting DC’s right to self-governance and investments in proven community-based solutions.

In a recent follow-up letter, GWCF noted:

With National Guard deployment continuing and over $1 billion in local DC funds still frozen, these federal actions threaten our city’s public safety, critical services, and our fundamental right to self-governance. The impact of these actions have reverberated around the region and across the country.

We are committed to building a stronger, safer, and more equitable region. While we are non-partisan, we are not neutral about supporting and protecting the health of our region and the values that make it a welcoming and inclusive community for all who call the region home.

Following up, GWCF told its component fund members that charity organizations -- across the board -- are under attack by the White House.  "President Trump issued a presidential memorandum authorizing government-wide investigations into non-profits, activists, and their donors and funders."

These actions put a strain on good-hearted, well-meaning philanthropic organizations. They also present new challenges. The Stone and Holt Weeks Foundation remains committed to doing good, having fun and continuing the noble work of what we owe to each other, that Holt and Stone began.

**  In Houston, Stone and Holt energetically volunteered at The Beacon Day Center.  The Beacon is a nonprofit organization that provides daily services -- including meals, laundry, counseling and more -- to homeless people in and around Houston, Texas. Stone and Holt worked there as much as they could.

The Foundation's relationship with The Beacon is deep and significant. Every year The Beacon remembers Holt and Stone and gives The Stone and Holt Weeks Volunteer Award to a worthy recipient. The 2025 awardee is Claire Edmondson.

Julie Falcon of The Beacon writes that clients and staff can always count on Claire to show up for her volunteer shift in the laundry

every week. "Claire’s dedication and service to our mission started in January of 2021 after she learned about The Beacon during an announcement at her church ... She quickly plugged in, assisting with laundry services and interfacing with some of the individuals served."

Claire has contributed more than 335 hours of volunteer work to The Beacon and, Julie adds, she "amplified her impact by introducing her family and community members to our mission. Many have volunteered alongside her and others provide in-kind donations in the form of socks,

underwear and blankets for the men and women in need."

Our sons, Holt and Stone, delighted in being outdoors. They took every opportunity to go on a hike, climb a tree or a hill, seek out a waterfall. To honor -- and protect -- that natural world, The Foundation supports several pro-environment organizations.

In the Washington area, Nature Forward uses creativity and compassion -- and grants from our Foundation twice a year --  to expose underserved students to the greatness of the great outdoors. According to Brenna Houck of Nature Forward, "This fall and winter, we are continuing.... field trips with scholarships for public schools, disability centers, and low-income housing communities. We will also.... offer our Days Off camps.... with scholarships provided for low-income participants as well."

We have also sent a donation to Learn24 OST (Out of School Time) Youth Scholarship Program. Overseen by the GWCF, it is part of The Learn24 Network -- a hub for summertime and after-school programs for students in Washington DC -- at the center of Mayor Muriel Bowser's community-strengthening concept: Afterschool for All.

In a time of diminishing resources, the program helps students and their families –especially those with particular needs – participate in activities that enrich their lives and opportunities.

We have wanted to reestablish our relationship with the organization Rebuilding Together -- an intergenerational group of volunteers answering to the needs of low-income elderly, veteran, and family homeowners  in the Washington DC area -- after its director Janice Stango retired and its doors closed. To reconnect with this good cause that Holt cared about and worked with while he was in high school, we recently sent funds to the Rebuilding chapter 'Rebuilding Together DC Alexandria' which has absorbed the DC area into its work.