June 2024 update by Wendy Boone

Each spring and fall the Charlie Boone Trails Memorial Foundation sets up a booth in Occoquan at their Riverfest and Craft Show. The following month, we will march in the Dale City 4th of July Parade. We hope to partner once more with NOVA BMX. It is always great fun as kids and adults zoom around us on their bikes as our float drives along.

Our team is continuing to work closely with Prince William County Parks and the Occoquan Supervisor's office. We are excited and optimistic about new plans and actions to be taken to get us moving forward in a huge way! We anticipate a lot happening in the coming weeks and we will be updating our blog to keep you informed as we move along.

But first, here are some fun things about this spring's Craft Show: Our booth was located in Conservation Alley along with a variety of organizations sharing, teaching and demonstrating many aspects of conservation. The activity was non-stop! Kids visited each booth to learn important things about conservation and get their Passports stamped. The Passports had descriptions of what each booth was teaching or demonstrating. It was very clever.

The thing the kids learned at our booth is that when they ride a bike or skateboard, they are using their own built-in energy and not energy from another source. They're not plugged in and dragging an extension cord. Also, they control their own on/off switch and their energy is limited only by what they themselves do.

In addition to the booths, there was a DJ providing music all weekend. Also, the talented students and teachers from Rockledge Elementary School's various music clubs entertained with singing and dancing, and playing keyboards, percussion instruments and guitars. It was fabulous to see these kids enjoying music and having so much fun performing!

There were a number of Prince William County organizations that impact us daily, such as emergency.pwcgov.org. The Water Service Authority refrigerator magnet tells about 18 tips for wise water use and kids learn why we need water and other important facts in H2GoKids.org activity books. Also sharing their valuable information were The Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia Master Naturalists and Friends of the Occoquan. Did you know that there is a sailing school at Leesylvania Park? The Northern Virginia Sailing School teaches American Sailing Association certification courses. And my favorite thing that I especially enjoyed is meeting the Park Rangers who patrol our bike and skate park site!

Stay tuned for our next blog! As always, thank you for your support!

INSIDENOVA 2020 News brief

In the fall of 2020 an article was written for INSIDENOVA. Unfortunately we are unable to provide a link to the actual article itself so we have enclosed a copy of it here for your perusal.

Charlie Boone Trails Memorial Foundation FALL 2020

How would you like to see a BMX bike and skateboard park in the middle of Lake Ridge? This can happen. We can do this!

The Charlie Boone Trails Memorial Foundation has been working with the Prince William County Planning Commission and Parks Department and we're super excited to have secured a 5.6 acre site to make this possible! This park can be a safe place for our young people to ride and skate right here in our community. Our ultimate vision is to build a family-oriented community park with a skate park, a pump track and dirt trails.

Our amazing partners at Pillar Design Studios have created eight powerful visual concepts and a stunning flyover video of what the first phase of the skate park portion could look like. The team at CBTMF invites you to our Facebook page Facebook/Charlie Boone Trails Memorial and our website www.cboonetrailsmemorialfoundation.org where you can read our story and view Pillar Design's outstanding work.

As you can imagine, this will take a substantial amount of money. Unfortunately due to COVID-19 our main fundraising events were cancelled. Our team is working hard to come up with new opportunities to ask our community’s neighbors and friends to help support our cause. Any donation, large or small, is greatly appreciated. Volunteers, sponsorships and talents of every kind are most welcome!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

OCTOBER 29, 2023

The Occoquan Fall Craft Show is upon us once again! Or actually, it was supposed to be. The entire weekend show was canceled because of Tropical Storm Olivia. It's such a shame. Our booth would have been set up along the river in Imagination Alley with other non-profit organizations, music and interesting displays and projects for the kids to do. Thankfully, this is where we plan to be in the Spring Show and it will be fun to be in a new area. Our team has exciting plans in the works that we will be talking about at the show. Things are just getting better and better!

It's been almost exactly a year since making the decision to put the skate area on hold and concentrate on the bike area. The proposed Bicycle Skills Park designed by Brock Lowery of Ironwood Outdoors is the focus now. This was a collaborative agreement between us and the county. The bike skills park will be a much more attainable and affordable goal. In addition, there are volunteers ready to get in there and help make this happen. We have gained incredible support from the county and the local biking and trails organizations. The Charlie Boone Trails Memorial Foundation has been around for a very long time with not a lot to show to the public, behind the scenes many things are taking place, but now things are finally moving along and we're gaining the momentum as we had hoped for. Exciting things are happening! Very soon we will be able to share more with you in hopes you share our excitement and enthusiasm. One of the updated item we can share is our upcoming new MOU which will outline the responsibilities and obligations of the Foundation and of the County to reflect our bike skills park. We are in a good place!

A new item has been added to the Navigation sites called Publicity.

The Lake Ridge Today Magazine ran an article in their September/October issue written by Charlie's sister and our Vice President Lynda Lee entitled From Grief to a Cause: one family's journey to remember their loved one through a community project. She wrote from the perspective as a sister who had a lot to say and had the opportunity to say it. There are so many things we've really wanted people to know about us. We feel like we're having a conversation with the community at last and we're grateful for the opportunity to tell our story!

The November/December issue of Lake Ridge Today will run an article called Our History in a Nutshell - Highlights of our Journey and where we are now. Our journey starts on May 7, 2014 at a meeting of the LRPRA Strategic Planning Committee.

Also included in Publicity are links to news articles from 2019 & 2020 and scans of articles from the Old Bridge Observer. (Thank you Randi Reid!)

­­­Over the years, we have found that our partners are our lifeline. NOVA BMX continues to be an important part of our lives. The Occoquan Bible Church has been our friend and partner since the County found the potential site for our park right next door to them in 2016. Church member (the late) Danny Corris joined us with his energy and enthusiasm and designed the first vision of our bike and skateboard park. Also back then, Village Skis & Bikes was the bike and skateboard store in Dillingham Square where Charlie and his friends spent much of their time. Owners Jim Haugan and Tom Finn were on our Board of Directors. The store is now A-1 Cycling and is our "home base" where we keep flyers and information to share. We are planning another Meet & Greet there this fall and hope you can join us.

From the President.....

The team at Charlie Boone Trails Memorial Foundation would like to update you on the plans and the ideas that we have been working on. Here is the updated conceptual plan of the proposed Bike & Skate Skills Park designed by Brock Lowery of Ironwood Outdoors, this design is going to be the focus of our activities as Phase One, which will be a constructed downhill run and pump track. This conceptual plan is estimated to cost approximately $100,000. Once this phase of our park is completed we can then begin fundraising in order to continue onto the next phase. We will continue building in stages with the ultimate goal being a six feature Bike & Skills Park and some variation of the skate park site design envisioned by Pillar, posted here previously.

We are working on grants and other public/organizational options to support funding our projects. We need support with donations of every kind, whether they be monetary, supplies, or physical support and presence. Every bit will help us.

We will have a booth at the Occoquan Riverfest and Craft Show on June 3rd and 4th, 2023. Please stop by and say hello we’d love to see you and talk about our plans. Should you miss us in June we will be attending the once again in September.

We are also intending to have a float at the Dale City 4th of July Parade as well, so if you cannot make the Craft Show hopefully we can see you at the parade.  

A QR Code has been added to our flyer which is also added at the bottom of each page on our website that will take you directly to the donation page. Feel free to save our flyer or the QR code and share with your friends and family. Every donation makes an impact in the long run so we thank you in advance for your help.

We are excited to be introducing our new plan at the 2023 Occoquan RiverFest and Craft show and utilizing our new QR code!

Foundation Updates

Occoquan Arts & Craft Show:  Twice a year Occoquan is home to the decades long arts and craft festival. In the Fall of 2021we were thrilled to  have a booth setup! CBMTF continued its presence for the 2022 Spring/Fall shows.  Attending this event allowed us the opportunity to talk to the community, share our vision and answer questions. We distributed flyers, sold masks, car decals, and collected donations. Additionally, our members spoke with other Non-Profit Organizations on how we could support one another and share on social media. Pictures of our group attending each year are here

Jason Williams: In the spring of 2022 we welcomed our newest Board of Director member Jason. We are honored to have have him as he has an extensive record of participation in several biking organizations, such as MORE-MTG,  Trails & Streams Coalition, Greater Prince William Trails Coalition and PWC Trails and Blueways Council.

July 2022: CBTMF Board members Wendy Boone and Carol McCarthy attended a picnic hosted by MORE-MTB and set up a table introducing  our Foundation to the attending  members of MORE-MTB. We believe this relationship will play a large role in the future park site. Pictures of the picnic are here

February 2022: Jason orchestrated a tour of our park site. Some of the people/organizations in attendance were Occoquan Supervisor Kenny Boddye,  members of the PWC Trails organizations, MORE-MTG, NOVA BMX, Keep Prince William Beautiful, as well as cyclists looking for a place to ride in the community. Our goal here was to share our vision in a grass roots style, share ideas and talk about future steps to make our goals.  Pictures of that get together are here

NOVA BMX: March every year is the beginning of RACING SEASON!!  For our partners at the NOVA BMX track this provides a great source for community outreach. This leads us into our next event this year ….

Dale City 4th of July Parade:  Our joint "float" with NOVA BMX was a decorated patriotic truck pulling a  trailer. We had adults and kids of all ages on bikes, scooters skateboards.  Parents walked along side of the float handing out candy, flyers and providing information for both organizations. Pictures of the fun that was had are here

A-1 Cycling Store ( Dillingham Square location):    A-1 will be a "home base" for CBTMF where we will hold Meet & Greets,  keep flyers available and share information. A big shout-out to the great people who came to the June  Meet & Greet! We plan on holding more in the future and organize other fundraising and outreach opportunities.  Pictures of that event are here

A lot has happened over the last two years inspite of COVID continuing to throw a wrench in our plans. If you have not read the previous blog post, we are now very happy to have signed up for the Amazon Smiles program. It is the most passive way to donate to our Foundation and I have already made heavy use of it as I began my holiday shopping. Check out the previous blog on how to sign up and choose Charlie Boone Trails Memorial Foundation. We would certainly appreciate your choosing our charity.

Happy Halloween: Halloween is right around the corner! Please be extra mindful as you are out and about to ensure all the excited ghosts and goblins are safe.

Spending season is upon us! Super easy donation option available

We have been added to the AmazonSmiles donation opportunity. It’s a simple way to donate without it even coming out of your wallet! You simply link our Foundation to your Amazon account as your charitable organization and Amazon will donate .5% of all qualified purchases you make to us quarterly! That’s it! So simple right? Once set up you will not need to do this step again. Log in and select our organization today to take advantage of all the holiday shopping you’ll be doing soon, if you haven’t started already! The holiday season is approaching fast! Of course, should you wish to give a donation directly we won’t complain! Just click the link for donations under the navigate button and put in what amount you’d like to give. A huge thank you for helping us raise the needed capitol, however you help in order to build our park and give back to our neighborhood kids.

Listed below are the steps to assist in selecting our organization to make this even easier.

How to use AmazonSmile on a web browser:

1. Visit smile.amazon.com

2. Sign in with the same account you use for Amazon.com

3. Select your charity

4. Start shopping! Remember to checkout at smile.amazon.com to generate donations for your chosen charity.
   Tip: Add a bookmark to make it easier to shop at smile.amazon.com.

How to use AmazonSmile using the Amazon app on your mobile phone:

1. Open the Amazon Shopping app

2. Navigate to the main menu (≡)

3. Tap on Settings and then select “AmazonSmile”

4. Select your charity and then follow the on-screen instructions to turn ON AmazonSmile in the mobile app

5. Once AmazonSmile has been activated in your app, future eligible app purchases will generate a donation for the charity you have selected.
   Note: The tablet app is not yet supported. Please visit smile.amazon.com/onthego to learn more.

Summer happenings update

DALE CITY JULY 4TH PARADE

Our members had an exciting and fun time participating in the Dale City 4th of July Parade. As we rode in our decorated truck with banners and patriotic décor, we passed out flyers and talked about our plans for the park. We were joined by several families and friends who rode with our car via bikes and skateboards. The support was amazing.

The parade was dedicated to the life and memory of James Hicks.  James was many things to many people. To the community he loved and served, he was President of the Dale City Civic Association, long-time Staging Director for the parade and 40+ year member the U.S. Army Fife and Drum Corps. To the members of this Foundation, James was a dear friend, dedicated supporter and member of our Board of Directors.  We will miss him forever. His wife Lisa continues to support our Foundation and serve in the Community. To see the pictures from the Parade go to this link

VETERANS PARK BRAINSTORM GET TOGETHER

Wendy & Dan Boone met Joe Conigliaro and Daryl Grier to discuss ideas for further events and fundraising ideas at Veterans Park. Pictures of that get together are on our community pictures page here

FURTHER HAPPENINGS

CBTMF has held several zoom meetings to discuss future events we hope to hold, as well as ideas for fundraising. Fundraising is the main focus of the Foundation at this point. We are planning some events to raise the needed capital to start breaking ground. We are hoping to begin cleaning up the lot of trash and debris as well as clearing out some overgrowth as these are things we can begin to do at this time. We hope some of you reading will join us by either volunteering for specific events but we hope more of you will join us in a more permanent capacity. We have some openings on our Board and are looking for folks who would want to assist us in this endeavor. Should you want to learn more about how you can help please contact us via email to be directed to the appropriate Foundation member to assist you.

Public Meeting Upcoming

Hello everyone! We at CBTMF wanted to touch base and inform everyone that though it has seemed quiet on our website the Foundation has been working tirelessly behind the scenes, doing as much as we can, all while observing the requirements put upon everyone due to COVID. COVID has caused all kinds of havoc with everyone world wide but finally things seem to be relaxing and we once more can get back into making advancements on the Park.

The first step we would like to announce is an OPEN TO THE PUBLIC zoom meeting! We encourage anyone and everyone who is interested in what has been going on behind the scenes and where we are in the advancement in building the park to please join our Zoom meeting. We ask everyone who wishes to join us in our endeavors to please attend as we are at the stage of actively looking for volunteers to become part of our Foundation and assist us in furthering this dream for the county and our youth. More information on positions we are looking to fill will be given at the meeting. We are looking for positions within the Foundation to be filled as well as volunteers for various activities.

The zoom meeting will be held on Friday, July 9th, 2021at 1pm. Please send a request for the zoom link to be forward to you at cboonefoundation@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you all there!

An amazing leap in our concept design

The progress we have made in the last few weeks has been astounding!  Our solid partnership with Pillar Design Studios has given us the beginning visions of our community park, in which we are very excited to share with you! Currently we have several drafts showing the main park entrance, possible landscaping for the common areas as well as the skateboard park portion.  Don’t worry bike enthusiasts! The BMX trails and pump tracks are in the works. 

During these last weeks, many of our foundation members have had the opportunity to speak with Pillar Design Studios, throwing out ideas on what our dream park would look like.  Pillar Design Studio’s very talented architect, patiently considered the variety of ideas, concepts, and concerns that we had in initiating the design.  Check out our page titled “Park In Progress” to see how the beginning of CBTMF Skateboard and BMX Park was visually brought to life! 

Within the designs presented you will see that it includes a Phase I and Phase II approach, an intricate entrance with parking and landscaping ideas, as well as many other possible future amenities. We are excited to continue working on the plans for the BMX trails and pump track!   Check out our page titled “ Park in Progress.” to see how the beginning of CBTMF Skateboard and BMX Park was visually brought to life! 

As we move forward in our progress, a more detailed outline will be available for what the overall goal will be financially to build this wonderful community park.  Currently a list of material goods, their cost as well as labor is being put together so that CBTMF may have a more specific financial target for our donors. 

Unfortunately due to COVID-19 our main fundraising events have been cancelled.  Our team is working hard to come up with new opportunities to ask our community’s neighbors and friends to help support our cause and give our children young, old, and life experienced a safe place to enjoy something they love.  Our mission first and foremost is to recognize the growing rate of mental health concerns and provide a healthy and welcoming outdoor experience. Any donation, large or small is greatly appreciated!!! Please check out our donation link or we will happily receive your gift via the snail mail!! 

From a quiet new year to full speed ahead with design and fundraising!

Things have been quiet on our Facebook page and website for a while as our members relaxed and kicked back for the Holidays. After all the excitement with the Planning Commission at the Public Hearing on December 18th, we have now officially secured the 5.6 acre site in Lake Ridge for our park! We are stoked!!

All of our team hopes you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We sure did. Plans are moving forward and the gears are in motion for Pillar Design Studios to begin creating the Master Plan.

As this work is being done, our focus has turned to FUNDRAISING. We need all the help we can get at this time. Every idea or donation we receive is a huge benefit to us.

If you would like to help, you can contact us at cboonefoundation@gmail.com or wendyssong2@gmail.com.

As always, thank you for your support! More to come shortly ….

We're officially approved!

The Prince William County Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor of the Bike and Skate Park. The atmosphere was uplifting and exciting as people got up to speak. Everyone was happy and smiling! Thank you so much to the County for this wonderful 5.6 acre site, to the Parks and Planning Departments and especially to our supporters. The next step is to develop the Master Plan with the help of Pillar Design Studios and Artisan Skate Parks. MERRY CHRISTMAS to all

The meeting which will change everything

Things are finally starting to move back in our favor. The Board of County Supervisors approved our revised Memorandum of Understanding and the Planning Office is setting back in motion the Public Facility Review process that was delayed in October.

Our Public Hearing will be on Wednesday, December 18th at 7:00 p.m. in the Board Chambers located in the McCoart Building in the County Complex. The Planning Office will submit the news article once again. It will appear twice in the Prince William Times. Postcards will go out to the properties adjacent to the site and new signs have already been posted to inform the community.

Please join us at the Public Hearing! We want to show off our supporters to the Planning Commission!! We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support and encouragement! It has totally paid off and made us strong!

November News Update from the President

On the weekend of November 16th and 17th, our member Joseph Conigliaro represented the Foundation at two events - CRANKSGIVING in NW Washington and Wakefield Jam Out at the Wakefield Park in Annandale. Below is the flyer that was made for the events. Joe took a huge project on his shoulders and did a fantastic job getting our name out there by passing out flyers and connecting with area groups. He was able to open doors to potential collaborations and relationships. There were also professional skaters there to possibly connect with as well. Thanks to Wendy Fike who brought her daughter and grandson along, we have pictures to share with you. I know they had a fun time!

On November 14th, an article appeared in the Potomac Local E-News written by reporter Jillian Ellis. This was actually the first announcement of the December 18th Public Hearing. She had just spoken to Bryce Barrett at the Planning Office. She used the color illustration of the Park that Mark Thomas did. Jillian is excited to be able to help keep the community informed about our progress. She said she is aware of a lot of people who have actually following our progress!

Major update to let you know what's been happening the last few months

Our application Public Facility Review #PFR2018-00023 was scheduled for a Public Hearing on Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at the Supervisors' Chambers of the McCoart Administration Building, 1 County Complex Court, Woodbridge.

Unfortunately that October 2nd meeting did not happen although .. The CBTMF team is working closely with the Prince William County Parks Department to resolve the matter that delayed our Public Facility Review being heard at the Public Hearing on October 2nd. However, we showed up anyway along with a group of skaters and their parents. We wanted to show the members of the Planning Commission that we are excited and enthusiastic and we assured them that "We'll be back!"

On October 14th Occoquan Supervisor Ruth Anderson's office teamed up once again with Keep Prince William Beautiful to clean up our community along the 5 miles of Old Bridge Road. The 3rd Annual Old Bridge Clean-up "bagged" 440 pounds of trash, which included 35 BIG trash bags and 8 roadside signs! The 60 volunteers who came to help included parents and skaters who had come to support CBTMF at the Public Hearing. Everyone enjoyed a terrific lunch together afterward. We also made a detour to the site and did a little picking up there.

In September in accordance with the county we had to post signs up around the proposed site to inform the public of our intentions. This way we could have folks in support, or those who don’t agree with our hopes could come to the meeting and make their comments heard on the proposed park. Lynda Lee and a friend, as well as Lisa Bell worked hard setting the signs up around the site and nearby roads. Thank you for your hard work!

Thats it for now! We are excited and grateful for your continued support over all this time. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Please continue to follow our posts here or on our Facebook page, or both! More to come we promise!

Technical drawing updated

We have a great new updated technical drawing. Things are moving along slowly but surely!

July 4th Parade Fun!

We are honored this year to join the Dale City 4th of July Parade! Lynda Lee will be driving the route with her two boys, who are both active skaters and bikers! We are really excited to have this be our first time as a foundation to support our community and county by joining the festivities! This is what we are about! Being part of the community, having fun with the youth of the county. Hope to see you there. Be sure to consider donating or pass our information on to someone else if you have graciously already done so.

Beginning at 10am, the parade will travel along Dale Boulevard from Kirkdale Rd to the Dale City Commuter Lot.

So come out early, grab a spot and enjoy the parade as it goes past. Stop at the lot afterwards to enjoy vendors, a DJ and performances to continue the festivities! Hope to see you there!.

JAY DAY!

The excitement is building and today is JAY DAY!!! Our BMX family has been posting some great stuff on our Facebook page, including the video of the story of Jay Day. I have attached the schedule here. It all starts at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 27th with registration for the various BMX races and events. Opening ceremonies start at noon with the National Anthem and parade of bikes. Donated items from local businesses will be raffled off, event T-shirts are being printed on-site, there will be decals and other fun BMX swag. Of course there will be food, including a bake sale and all the proceeds of the day will  benefit the Charlie Boone Trails Memorial Foundation!

 We have some GOOD and GREAT news! Our Public Facility Review submission to the County is complete at last (after nearly a year). The technical drawing created by Mark Thomas at Pennoni has been approved by the Planning Office and now our submission is on its way through the County's system where it will be evaluated from many angles and by many people. The GREAT news is that Pennoni has done this work at no cost to us and is now our very first Sponsor! 

Thanks!

Wendy

An update and some sad news from our President

It is so bitter/sweet that at the same time we finally have good news to share with you - our supporters - we also have the worst news that could ever be. CBTMF has lost our dear friend and fellow member Dan Corris. His passing is devastating to us and to his friends and family. He was the one to put down on paper the "vision" of what we want our park to look like.  Prince William County Parks Director Seth Hendler-Voss had the perfect words: "I'm so sorry for his loss. His passion and humor could fill any room." Our Foundation has made many friends in high places throughout the County. Their kind words are truly heart-warming. Tom Burrell of the Civic Association LOCCA/PELT had this to say: "We are all so sorry to hear of Dan's passing. He was extremely talented and capable of motivating people to follow the cause. His family will be in our thoughts."

Danny's obituary can be found at www.bakerpostfh.com.

Danny was generous, funny and crazy smart. Above all, he was an amazing father to his little boy Jayson. The saddest part of all this is that Jayson will grow up without his father. Keeping Danny's vision alive is our priority and privilege.

Here is the visual representation of the Charlie Boone Trails created by Pillar Design Studios. Sadly, Danny never saw this, but we know he would have been thrilled and proud!

We would love to hear from you. Please share any thoughts about the park or any words for Danny’s family that you would like to express.

Rough Draft drawing of park

This is the rough draft drawing of our proposed park. This is what we need your assistance with getting done professionally to make our next step in this process. Please spread the word far and wide to friends, neighbors, business’ who might be able to assist our efforts! Lets get this park done for the community by the community! Thank you

Sending a call out for your assistance!

Thank you to all of our followers and visitors. The Charlie Boone Trails Memorial Foundation, Inc. is trying hard to make this Bike and Skate Park an integral part of Lake Ridge and an exciting destination for the entire community.

This picture is a rough drawing of the site made by member Dan Corris. It shows the 5.6 acre site with dirt bike trails along the left side, the general area where the cement bike and skateboard structure will be and the circular easy-in/easy-out parking lot. 

In addition to working with local organizations, CBTMFinc is working with Pillar Design Studios, an action sports development company that specializes in the design, planning and construction of facilities such as ours. They are helping us produce a technical drawing of the site. This drawing will complete the application we are submitting to the Planning Department in Prince William County to have our park added to the County's Comprehensive Plan. As you are aware, professional services of this kind are costly and necessary to our ability to move forward. 

Donations can be made to our Website www.cboonetrailsmemorialfoundation.org or our GoFundMe page where we began our fundraising a year ago. https://www.gofundme.com/charlieboonetrails You can follow our progress there as we added updates along the way. 

The initial amount we need at this time is $4,000 with another $2,500 soon thereafter as we continue our relationship with Pillar. This is obviously just the beginning of the funds we need to make this park happen. Ultimately, a facility like this will cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, but this is where we begin.

Please share this with everyone you know! We truly appreciate your generosity and support!!