Yellowstone Ecosystem Studies (YES) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building the scientific foundation of ecological information which sustains a healthy Yellowstone. Through cooperative educational projects, YES conducts research on significant environmental issues facing the Greater Yellowstone Region. Some ongoing studies include the re-introduction of wolves into the area, the effect of acid rain on alpine lakes and steams, and the decline in the population of forest owls, woodpeckers, and other birds.

Silver Gate, population 18, lies one mile from the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park and 20 miles from the Lamar Valley, which offers one of the best wildlife viewing areas in the Park. In the spring of this year, YES purchased the Pine Edge Cabins in Silver Gate to use as a basecamp for researchers and environmental educators. The Pine Edge Cabins have been rental cabins since 1937 and are in surprisingly good shape but need work.

In June, small group of Amizade volunteers worked with a YES carpenter to begin renovation on the lodge building. Volunteers worked in the mornings tearing out the old flooring, putting in new flooring, painting, and remodeling the lodge. In the afternoons, the volunteers went hiking, rafting, and wildlife viewing.

Bob Crabtree, the president of YES, was so excited about the work Amizade did helping restore the lodge, he wanted to know when we were coming back. Well, Bob, next summer we plan on building a deck onto the lodge and winterizing some of the cabins so they can be used year-round, and as Amizade volunteer Brad Carrel said, "I'm ready to come back whenever you need me and even when you don't."

In July, Amizade ran two consecutive programs in Santarém, Brazil. The focus of the program was to build a silk screening workshop for the Pastoral do Menor. Pastoral do Menor Trabalhador was founded in 1987 to combat the problems of violence, abandonment, and abuse of street children. Pastoral do Menor set up a Support Center for Child Workers (SCCW) which provides educational, vocational, and recreational opportunities for street children in an effort to give them a better future. Today, approximately 800 children take part in SCCW activities.

In conjunction with Amizade, the Pastoral do Menor developed the idea of creating a self-sustaining silk-screening workshop to teach teenagers how to make shirts and sell them. The only problem was, the Pastoral did not have a place to do this. Enter Amizade.

The first group to come down was a group of eight Elderhostelers. Elderhostel is a nonprofit organization that runs educational service programs for people 55 and older in locations all over the world. Joined by the students of the Pastoral do Menor, the first group was able to build all of the walls of the building.

The second group to come down included volunteers from the United States, Poland, and a Brazilian-American. This group finished the walls and the roof.

The programs were not just all work. Both groups had the opportunity to go on a boat ride down the Amazon, spend a day at the beach, and visit the open air market in Santarém. Several of the volunteers even got on TV. First, a reporter from TV Tapajós interviewed Hugh Swenson, an Elderhostel volunteer from Colorado, but he didn't speak Portuguese. Robin and Fran Markham, two of the Elderhostel volunteers, lived some time in Angola and spoke Portuguese so the reporter interviewed Fran. The story aired, not only in Santarém, but as far away as Belém (over 500 miles away).

It is difficult to say who had more fun - the kids at the Pastoral do Menor or the Amizade and Elderhostel volunteers, but the experience can best be summed up by a comment from Diane Walsh, a volunteer from Chicago, who said "It was simply the best vacation I ever had."

The WPWR Channel 50 Foundation awarded Amizade a $10,000 grant for general support. - our biggest grant yet!

"We think of a philanthropist as someone who donates big sums of money, yet the word is derived from two Greek words, philos (loving) and anthropos (man): loving man. All of us are capable of being philanthropists. We can give of ourselves." - Edward Lindsey

This August, Amizade returned to work at the OTO Ranch in Montana. The OTO was built around the turn of the century by "Pretty" Dick Randall, who was attributed to being the "Father of Montana Dude Ranching." Randall built a beautiful lodge and cabins in what was to become the first dude ranch in Montana.

The OTO has gone through several hands and is now owned by the US Forest Service. Even though the ranch is still a grand place, the buildings have begun to decay and the surrounding area has debris which needs to be removed to make a safe habitat for the wildlife.

This summer Amizade ran three one week programs at the OTO which included the Appelbaum family who was with us last summer and a group from the University of Pittsburgh who was with is in Bolivia this past March. Working with the tremendous support of the Forest Service, Amizade began to repair and shingle roofs on the cabins, building fencing, and removing much of the rubbish that littered the property.

In addition to the work, the volunteers enjoyed white-water rafting, hiking, sitting in the boiling river, visiting the Livingston Depot where there was an exhibit on the OTO, and learning about the history of the region and some of its iluustrious characters such as Yankee Jim and Liver Eatin' Johnson. There were also many visitors who stopped by the OTO including a group from the Livingston Depot, John Fryer - who spent his summers at the OTO as a child, and Tom and Helen Osen - who entertained the volunteers with stories about growing up in Montana. When he first visited the OTO, Tom Osen commented, "I knew you were volunteers because you cared about your work. It brought joy to this old man's heart to see you young folks restoring those old cabins. It reminded me of the time when neighbors helped each other out. I thought those days were gone, but you showed me they weren't. Thank God."

Sept. 18th, McGees Bar is having a fundraiser for Amizade from 8:00PM to 11:00PM. For $15, all of beer, wine, and soda you can drink. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Amizade.McGees Bar is located at 950 W. Webster in Chicago (near the corner of Sheffield and Webster).

Oct. 9th, Amizade Open House - Amizade has moved to a new office. To celebrate we are going to have an open house from 8:30PM to 11:30PM. The cost is $10 per person. There will be wine, beer , and soda. All proceeds go to Amizade. Stop on by, we would love to see you:

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