Lucas Film Ltd allow us (the 501st) to exist because of the charity work of some of our members, it makes Lucas look good by proxy. There will probably never be another group like the 501 because no film will probably ever have the same impact as the first Star Wars, you have to remember at the time there was nothing like it, Star Wars represented a huge leap in the use of effects in a film, this is what I believe really grabbed the publics attention and gave star wars such an important place in the western worlds imagination. George was a pioneer in the FX industry (and still is) One thing I worry about is the future generations of kids (like the ones we visit in hospitals etc) will stop recognising our costumes, at which point the 501 will just be like any other costume club. Sure there are a lot of us, all over the world, but when the kids don't know/care who darth vader is, it wont really help that much.