At The Stone and Holt Weeks Foundation, the driving forces behind every action we take are the spirits of Holt and of Stone. Somehow, while missing them more than we can say, we are carrying on for our amazing sons -- with a lot of help.

When we hear of Stone and Holt from others, it means everything to us.

Early each spring, a group of Holt's high school classmates reach out with a generous gift from their Fantasy Football League, whose teams are named after Holt and Stone, and Stone's dog Priam, who was at their sides when Holt and Stone were killed. A beautiful note of remembrance always accompanies these friends' donation.

And recently we learned from a friend of Stone's that he had been invited to give their high school's 2026 commencement address. He wrote to let us know that he would be speaking of how Stone mentored him in high school and college -- and of the gravity of losing Stone and Holt.

Holt and Stone openly and tirelessly believed in making our planet better. They worked and cared for other people. They strove to protect the environment and to honor history. They delighted in the power of music and art and sports and community.

We are grateful to so many people who have entrusted our Foundation to use their gifts wisely and lovingly. One of those was our cousin Dena Taylor, who loved Stone and Holt and shared their passions for life and for helping others. She also shared many of their interests.

When she passed away in 2025, she designated our Foundation to continue her efforts -- in concert with Holt and Stone. To that end, The Foundation made special grants to Red Cloud Renewable, Interplay Orchestra and Coahoma Community College in Coahoma County, Mississippi. This Spring has been a busier than usual period of grantmaking.

**  Grant recipient Red Cloud Renewable is a sustainable energy education project created by members of the Lakota of Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. We have written about our family's connections to the history of the Lakota and the Wounded Knee Massacre and the hopeful future of RedCloud Renewable in previous newsletters.

This year our Red Cloud Renewable grant purpose reads,

"This special grant is made in loving memory and honor of Dena Taylor, who worked with Native American people in the Southwestern US, and loved their culture, traditions and music. This donation is also made, as Always, in loving memory and honor of Stone Weeks and Holt Weeks, caring and compassionate students of history who were so eager to do so much more good for this world."

Our Foundation was invited to a reception in April to celebrate Earth Day and to honor Chief Henry Red Cloud and his son, John Red Cloud -- 5th and 6th generational descendants of Chief Red Cloud (1822-1909) -- for the contribution of Red Cloud Renewable to the sustainable life and livelihoods of Native Americans:  "A New Way to Honor The Old Ways".

We asked several Friends of the Foundation -- Ellie and Tom Hamburger, Nathan Barash and Ben Posner -- to represent us at the gathering at President Lincoln's Summer Cottage in Washington.

Tom reported that it was meaningful

"standing in for you, the Foundation, and the boys at the Lincoln Cottage last night. We met Chief Henry Red Cloud and his son John, who mentioned that he reads the Foundation newsletter. Both expressed appreciation for your support. The Chief wore the eagle feather war bonnet that had belonged to his great grandfather, Chief Red Cloud of the Oglala Lakota, and he and John gave a thirty-minute presentation about the Pine Ridge project that was long on storytelling and included the Chief singing."

**  Holt, Stone and Dena had personal and lifelong connections to people with various challenges. In addition to our annual support of Interplay Orchestra, we issued a special grant to help jumpstart a new Youth Orchestra modeled after the success of Interplay Orchestra, which brings together musicians with intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities.

Emily Park -- the orchestra's Executive Artistic Director and Principal Conductor -- wrote to us,

"I don't even have the words to express how moved I am by your message and by this extraordinary gift. Thank you for believing in this new chapter for Interplay and for investing so meaningfully in the Interplay Youth Orchestra. Your generosity will have a lasting impact on so many young musicians and families, and I feel so grateful that you are helping us bring this vision to life... Because of you, Interplay can expand its mission to create performances that inspire, bring people together, and show the beauty of music without barriers."

**  Every Fall, The Foundation sends a grant to the Leadership Class at Walter Johnson High School where Holt was such an active member. Our grant purpose is for the class "to help foster community engagement through student run projects which most closely demonstrate the idea Do Good & Have Fun." We also ask them to report back to us on how the funds were used.

WJ's Leadership Teacher, Sophie Fierst, recently notified us,

"We actually just did a great community event. The Leadership class decided that they wanted to bring back a community fair, which had been a regular event pre-Covid. We arranged for rented carnival games and had various clubs run different events in exchange for money for their clubs. The grant (also) helped pay for the games, including a bounce house and a ladder game that everybody had a lot of fun with. We had 18 clubs participate and earn money for their respective clubs, including Paws for a Cause, the Psychology Club, and MoCo Election Alliance."

**  Each Spring, Stone's Pi Kappa Phi fraternity chapter at The University of Delaware, awards a member The Stone and Holt Weeks Humanitarian Award. Stone's 'little brother' Bobby Bartocci, organizes the selection with other Founding Fathers of the chapter. In honor of the recipient, The Foundation makes an annual donation to The Ability Experience, the fraternity's national charity supporting those with disabilities including veterans.

Bobby wrote to us, that with almost 20 submissions this year, and a handful of multiple nominations, Nick Goeller was selected. The following is an extract of one of the nomination letters for Nick:

"I am nominating Nick Goeller for the Stone and Holt Weeks Award. He consistently shows up when it actually matters and not just when it’s easy or visible. He’s the guy who handles responsibilities without needing recognition, keeps standards high, and makes the people around him better just by how he carries himself. Whether it’s supporting brothers, contributing to the chapter’s success, or setting the tone socially and academically, Nick operates with a level of reliability and quiet leadership that most people talk about but don’t live out. He doesn’t chase credit, he earns respect, and that’s exactly what this award is supposed to represent."

**  Nature writ large and Woodend Sanctuary in particular were so important to Holt and to Stone throughout their lives. The Foundation continues to support Nature Forward and the opportunities it provides for Washington-area students to learn about the natural world.

Between September and April, during the 2025-2026 school year, Nature Forward created 47 free programs for public schools, serving more than 1,000 students. And there were additional programs for students with disabilities.

Originally designed to provide free spring and fall field trips to underserved school children and people with disabilities, our grants now additionally offer scholarships to support youth programming year-round, including scholarships for Days Off, Spring Break, and summer camps.

Brenna Houck, Director Youth Programs at Nature Forward recently reported, "Thank you for your generous support that enables children to experience the wonders of nature at Woodend Sanctuary in honor of Stone and Holt."

**  Holt and Stone, from very young ages, believed in safeguarding our planet and they were passionately contributing to that purpose when they were killed. To keep their caring at work, The Foundation gives several grants a year to Environment America -- and its student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs). 

Early on, Environment America created the Stone and Holt Weeks Recruiting Award, presented every spring "to a young leader that demonstrates exemplary recruitment skills and dedication to protecting the environment."

The 2026 Award recipient is Leila Salam, a fourth year student at UCLA. Courtney Abrams of Environment America wrote to us, "Leila.... has done exceptional work building the CALPIRG Students chapter at UCLA and running campaigns to protect our oceans and get the LA 2028 Olympics to be plastic free. .....Thank you again for your continued support of Environment America and for allowing us to honor the lives and memories of Stone and of Holt."

Clara Castronovo and Jake Twomey, the 2023 and 2025 Stone and Holt Weeks Recruiting Award recipients, were also in attendance. You can read more inspiring stories about Leila and the other 2026 award nominees -- here.

**  With deep roots in Mississippi, our family spent quality time there with family and friends.  Stone and Holt dearly loved their grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins in Coahoma County, where Jan grew up. Cousin Dena -- an insatiable lifelearner -- lived two blocks away. Though she lived her adult life in the Southwest US, she remained devoted to her birthplace. We know she would want The Foundation to support nearby Coahoma Community College, a public historically Black college.

We established the Dena Taylor & Stone and Holt Weeks Leadership Scholarship

"with the greatest love and respect for the memories of Dena Taylor and Stone Weeks and Holt Weeks. It is created to honor their exceptional compassion and caring Community Leadership qualities and to recognize their endless passion for Learning – with the hope that it will inspire, encourage and support these qualities in students of Coahoma  Community College."

On receiving the gift, Dr. Valmadge T. Towner, president of Coahoma Community College, said in a statement:

“The generosity of the Weeks family is appreciated and uplifting. Investing in our students will not only provide a positive thrust for individual students, but financial assistance can serve as a benefit for the family of the student. We are in an era that requires families to spend more of their personal income for educational services than ever before."

** Moved by Stone's high school volunteer work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) summer camp in Chicago, our Foundation gives annual grants to MDA -- a U.S. voluntary health organization for people living with muscular dystrophy, ALS, and more than 300 other neuromuscular conditions. "We are deeply grateful for your generous support and partnership with MDA," wrote Carrie Dalton of MDA. "Your kindness helps us continue serving families and advancing our mission."

**  A gift to St. Andrew's Episcopal School earmarked for the Minority Scholarship Fund was made:  "Always. In loving memory and honor of our beautiful and amazing sons and best friends -- Stone Weeks, Class of 2003, and his brother Holt Weeks. Also in honor of faithful teacher, coach and friend Al Hightower."

**  In 1970, Consumers Union and consumer advocate Ralph Nader founded the Center for Auto Safety. For 40 years, Clarence Ditlow was its Executive Director and a tireless champion of highway safety and responsibility. When Holt and Stone were killed, Clarence was one of the generous people who came into our griefstricken lives, helping us to navigate the additional legal horrors that we faced. We honor his life and work -- and of course Stone and Holt -- by supporting the Center for Auto Safety.

** Clarence also led us to the Truck Safety Coalition (TSC) -- a volunteer organization serving truck crash victims and lobbying Congress for safer roads -- is dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by truck-related crashes. The Foundation supports the TSC as well.

As we must face another terrible anniversary next month, again we can never thank you enough for all of the support of us, of Stone and of Holt, and of this Foundation.

With Love Always,

Jan and Linton

** Every year in May The William Holt Weeks Leadership Award is given to an outstanding student at Walter Johnson High School who, according to teachers, "best represents the character and spirit of Holt Weeks -- Leader, Scholar, Athlete, Volunteer -- and shares his passions for History and Government".

The 2026 recipient is Mya Andriamalala. Mya is the President of the Walter Johnson Student Government Association, and like Holt was, a member of the Leadership Class.

Mya has an outstanding academic record, and in her teachers' words:

"Mya enjoys collaborating with her peers... Always positive.... inquisitive, eager to learn ... Her passion for leadership and service extends far beyond our school. With a deep interest in international relations and public policy, she is driven by a desire to make meaningful change on a global scale—especially in under-resourced countries.... Her energy is infectious, and her love for her school community is palpable in all of her efforts.... (she) brings incredible school spirit and enthusiasm to everything she does. ....instrumental in pep rallies and student events.... (and) as a proud member of the Walter Johnson Cheer Team, she uplifts not just the athletes on the field, but the entire student body."

Mya will be going to Wellesley College in the fall. Thank you to Holt's close high school friend Nathan Barash, who serves on the Foundation's Advisory Board, for presenting the award to Mya and delivering remarks from us.

**  Also each spring, Stone's alma mater St. Andrew's Episcopal School presents The Stone Taylor Weeks Award for Excellence in the Study of History to a deserving student. Copies of the two books that Stone researched for Douglas Brinkley are gifted to the recipient.

This year's awardee is valedictorian Vincent Wayne. At the presentation in June, Scott Corkran of the History Department said Wayne "demonstrated.... extraordinary gifts and remarkable diligence that so impressed his history teachers over the last four years.... [and that he possesses] a thirst for learning and a desire to excel."

Vincent is planning to attend Vanderbilt University. Thank you to Stone's high school friend Sarah Taylor Bower, also on the Foundation's Advisory Board, for representing us at the award's day program.

**  The Ecked College Tennis Team -- now coached by Holt's dear friend and teammate Ben Maxwell -- awarded their annual Holt Weeks Sportsmanship Award in May. This year it was presented to Amirali Ghavam, a second year student from Iran. According to Ben, Amirali's "team camaraderie and sportsmanship is something we could all learn from... We are incredibly proud of him. He has added so much positivity and growth to our program. We are looking forward to having him in the years to come...He was truly honored to receive this award."