Welcome to Planes and Roses!

Planes and Roses Blog – so named by our Niece Elizabeth who reminded us that our mom loved roses and our dad spent his life as an aviator. Beauty and the desire to soar are things to aspire to.

“Why are we doing this?”

Welcome to our web page. Thank you for taking time to visit and learn about the James and Genevieve Wilson Foundation. We are biased but we think there were never two finer, kinder, more loving and more inspiring parents and friends than James and Genevieve Wilson. They raised and educated 9 children. They were a force for good in our lives and a continuous example of how to be a contribution to others. These gifts have been passed on directly to their 31 grandchildren and their story will be told to future generations.

This started when we were together for the Memorial service for my father and were reminiscing about the rich lives our parents had led and the things they cared about. We hit on the idea of forming and funding an organization that would honor their memories in a tangible way. We needed a cause they cared about and had a desire to fill a niche that other excellent organizations were not addressing. We chose Autism and decided to concentrate on education and travel for older children and adults to help them continue to advance toward as close to a mainstream life as possible. We have each contributed our time and treasure to start the Foundation and are all planning to participate in the day-to-day operations.

Autism is a real part of our family story. It has affected some of our children and taught all of us that it can be a challenge but also a source of great joy. We know that “different” should not be interpreted as a negative. We could all tell you wonderful stories about the gifts our Autistic children, nieces and nephews have given us when we took the time to see things from their perspective.

We will endeavor to help as many Autistic teens and adults as we can to have a better chance at a fulfilling life. It may be a career or the pursuit of a rewarding hobby or the chance to travel somewhere they might not have been able to go. We hope to help them have the same kind of rich experiences our parents enjoyed and encouraged us to pursue.

Our commitment:

· We promise to spend as close to 100% of the donations we receive on charitable gifts.

· No family member will benefit financially from the operation of the Foundation.

· We will share the stories of the people we help and the organizations we work with.

We are just getting started and we hope you will choose to join us – or at least follow our progress – as we honor the memory of our beloved parents.

Thank you,

Michael Wilson

President

The James and Genevieve Wilson Foundation