The Charles Tillman Cornerstone Foundation provides assistance to critically ill children and their families. Since 2005, Charles Tillman's charitable efforts have impacted the lives of thousands of critically and chronically ill children and their families.

Childhood cancer research gets very little federal funding. The Beckley Foundation raises funds for childhood cancer research, which goes to a team of local researchers at Rush University Medical Center who are working to find a cure for rare childhood cancers, including neuroblastoma. 

Pictures of our work to the rowboat and the 2019 row event are included below.

In 2018 LandCraft committed to assisting this cause for a second time, not knowing what we were going to be given to refinish or do in 2019. It was a bigger endeavor than we anticipated. Once Charles and Jake got as far as they could in the build process, the homemade charity rowboat was brought to LandCraft to complete the boat build. We couldn't just slap gelcoat on the boat that we received. It wouldn't look right, but it also required a lot of work to complete the build and bring it to a safe, usable condition. The boat's foundation had to be addressed before any refinishing stages. You'll see photos of the front of the boat and a panel that were both unattached which required fabrication and finesse to attach and bond to the structure. We had to properly laminate in the riggers for the oars to give the rowers a sturdier foundation to row. The thin wood used for the build had low spots everywhere that had to be faired out to a smooth finish. The lines of the joined panels left uneven body lines around the boat that had to be worked and straightened. The bodyline-heavy bow section needed extensive labor time to straighten and bring to shape, and that required 41 years of craftsman experience to do. A keel was constructed and added to the hull to help the rowers keep a steady course. The floor decking had no proper insulation or strength, so we cut into the floor and filled it with foam to add strength and help prevent rowers from falling through. And finally, we refinished the rowboat in gelcoat. The re-purposed trailer we were provided to put the boat on was not setup for a rowboat, especially not one in the delicate condition of this boat. Over 32 additional hours were required to fabricate the trailer to properly support the lightweight custom rowboat. The rowboat looks exactly how we envisioned it to look, and it took over 300 hours of professional work to get it to look that way. We think we got it looking like the photo concept and ready to be wrapped and looking nice for a 250k corporate sponsor! The rowers can now safely get across Lake Michigan in proper conditions for a rowboat and commit to their cause. 

A big shout out goes to LandCraft's awesome team who spent countless hours on the build. Thanks Keith, Joe & Mike! LandCraft is proud to present our work, which has been provided as a donation to ensure that this group could commit to their cause and row this year. LandCraft® donated 100%, and it's a huge effort we undertook for kids that need help. Our work is nothing compared to the daily battles that kids facing cancer have. We hope you'll donate too.

Throughout the summer, Keith from LandCraft continued to play an instrumental role in the row event planning process and actively participated as chase/medical boat captain with his boat for the row that took place on September 1, 2019. Follow the journey on social media and see additional links to news articles below.

The Charles Tillman Cornerstone Foundation provides assistance to critically ill children and their families. Since 2005, Charles Tillman's charitable efforts have impacted the lives of thousands of critically and chronically ill children and their families. Childhood cancer research gets very little federal funding. The Beckley Foundation raises funds for childhood cancer research, which goes to a team of local researchers at Rush University Medical Center who are working to finding a cure for rare childhood cancers, including neuroblastoma. 

September 1, 2019

On Sunday September 1st at approximately 5:30 pm ET team LandCraft® left St. Joseph Michigan for Chicago, following Charles Tillman and Jake Beckley in their Row4Kids 2-man rowboat. Keith from LandCraft provided his services and vessel as the chase boat with safety/medical crew and a total of 13 passengers to follow the rowers across the lake.

A second vessel was a part of the action for a few hours at the beginning and end of the row to get NFL and drone footage. It likely slowed the rowers down a bit to have a film crew out there, but the footage will be remarkable.

While on the lake, we encountered 4 different, mild weather patterns and had favorable conditions for the majority of the row. With the time of year and Fall weather patterns starting to take shape, we truly got lucky with 25 hours of favorable lake conditions.

The rowers and the chase/medical boat team safely arrived in Chicago on 9/2 at approximately 5:30 pm CT, 25 hours after the row began the day prior. Charles and Jake did it!

Check out some photos from the 2019 row event:

Pictures from the Row4aCure event that took place October 3-4, 2016 are included below.

October 3-4, 2016

Row4aCure contacted us on September 9, 2016 in need of paintwork on a row boat that was built to take a 65-mile solo trek across Lake Michigan. The Row4aCure organization was established to raise funds for childhood cancer research, specifically finding a cure neuroblastoma. While working with this group we learned that childhood cancer research receives very little funding compared to other forms of cancer research, making this a noteworthy cause to support. 

Our team took on the project, and we also supported the rower (Jake) on his trek across the lake. LandCraft followed him in a support boat, and here are details from the event:

Jake was scheduled to row on September 30, 2016 but was delayed due to a slow moving low pressure system across the region. On the 30th there were strong winds and 10 foot waves... not a good day to row. Per NOAA and Coast Guard recommendations, the row was rescheduled for the evening of Sunday October 2nd... but at 7pm EST, we headed out into unexpected lingering fog and large swells, so we had to delay the row for safety reasons until the nighttime fog cleared.

On Monday October 3rd at approximately 8:50 am we left St. Joseph Michigan for Chicago, following Jake Beckley and the Row4aCure boat. The lake was still settling after days of strong winds and large waves. After a few hours of rowing the winds became calm and the lake took on a glassy sheen giving Jake optimal rowing conditions. Shortly after sundown on Monday evening, at approximately 10pm, heavy winds out of the East/Southeast came upon us quickly creating 4 foot chop with 6-8 foot waves eventually taking over by about 1-2 am. After hours of Jake fighting the waves, and after calling the Coast Guard station for confirmation of weather conditions (winds and waves expected to increase), we called Jake to our boat. The weather conditions became too hazardous for the row to safely continue - it would become nearly impossible to safely rescue Jake and the Row4aCure boat had we waited much longer to bring Jake aboard and secure the rowboat to our vessel.

With strong winds and waves to our stern quarter and hull side, we had to continue to travel at idle speed with the Row4aCure boat (which had to be secured twice after coming loose in the intense lake conditions). We arrived safely at Dusable Harbor at approximately 5:30 am on Tuesday, October 4, 2016. 

In some of the photos from the row (see below), you will be able to see the damage the Row4aCure boat suffered in the harsh conditions we faced.

On October 14, 2016 we attended the Row4aCure after party and fundraising auction, celebrating with the people that contributed to this campaign for Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. A special thank you goes out to Senator John Proos for securing a boat slip for us in St. Joseph, and Dusable Harbor for providing us with unexpectedly needed safe refuge upon our return.

Check out some photos from the 2016 row event: