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Welcome to another edition of the Amizade Update!
This issue has many crucial components. Most
importantly, everyone who is committed to public
access at the OTO must contact the US Forest Service
to ensure
that the site remains open for the ideal combination of
educational and volunteer group access, habitat
preservation, and historic restoration.
Amizade needs past OTO volunteers to write the USFS
BY OCTOBER 25
to let them know that people who have invested time
and sweat into the OTO agree with the "OTO Tract
Forest Plan Amendment," File Code: 1950/5140. All
comments should be sent to: Walt Allen,
Interdisciplinary Team Leader; USDA Forest Service -
Supervisor's Office; P.O. Box 130, Bozeman, MT 59771.
| Why Should the USFS Continue to Partner With Amizade? |
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Doubtlessly, all OTO volunteers remember their
experience fondly. It is, of course, crucial that future
volunteers from many different groups have access to
the experience as well. Amizade volunteers should also
emphasize the legacy of Amizade's partnership with
the USFS. The
main reasons that the USFS - Amizade partnership
should be preserved follow.
First, the partnership is a model for effective
nonprofit/public sector collaboration. Amizade provides
substantial human capital in the form of volunteers,
while the Forest Service handles standard logistical
matters such as security and permitting access to
appropriate groups. Amizade offers dozens
of volunteers to the Forest Service every summer,
allowing restoration of the OTO to continue unabated.
In fact, Amizade originally instigated efforts to preserve
the OTO.
Second, Amizade takes care to make donations to the
OTO every time a group volunteers at the site.
Amizade, unlike many similar nonprofit groups, ensures
that administrative costs remain low so that a portion
of volunteers' program fees go directly to the site. This
careful consideration, which Amizade has followed since
its inception, ensures that the OTO is not burdened by
volunteer labor that is unable to help with necessary
parts and tool costs.
Third, the partnership with Amizade ensures that a
diverse group of people - young and old, urban and
rural, Northeastern and Midwestern - are exposed to a
striking example of US
History. The OTO is one of few locations where
volunteers can literally
touch and experience turn-of-the-century American
History. Future volunteers should have the opportunity
to experience this legacy first-hand.
The OTO »
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| Westward to the OTO Dude Ranch - by John C. Franke |
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Published: Tidewater Times, May 2001-
Close your eyes and picture the following setting on a
clear, sky-blue August day.
Ten miles north of Gardiner, Montana (just outside the
north entrance to Yellowstone National Park, you are
situated at 8,000 feet within the Gallatin National
Forest, which serves as ranchland, a grizzly bear
habitat, and a migration corridor for elk. Your environ is
nested among the 9,000-11,000-foot peaks of the
Gallatin and Absaroka Ranges, all surrounded by the
Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and bisected by the
meandering, cold, yet crystalline Cedar Creek.
Now, open your eyes-for centered in this breathtaking
mountainous region is the site of the oldest dude ranch
in Montana, the OTO. I can envision some puzzlement
on your part relative to what this missive is leading to.
Well, no need to fret, for here is where the story
begins.
My wife Kathleen and I decided to spend a one-week
working vacation (within this exact setting) last August
volunteering our time, labor and sweat to assist in the
historic restoration of the OTO's cabins, lodge and
varied outbuildings. Our efforts were directly
coordinated and managed by the nonprofit organization,
Amizade, Ltd (volunteer@amizade.org) that is
dedicated to promoting volunteerism and providing
community service in locations through-out the world.
Now that I have hopefully piqued your curiosity and
have you thinking, "Um, this sounds interesting," let me
digress a bit so as to tell you the history of the OTO
and what led to this meaningful, broad-based, state-
recognized volunteer restoration effort.
Click Here to Continue the Story of the OTO »
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| Artists - Help Amizade, Win $100, and Gain Recognition |
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Young and aspiring artists are challenged to design a
logo to represent any combination of Amizade's themes
of exploration, service, and understanding. The artist
who successfully designs Amizade's new logo will
receive a $100 prize and continuous recognition.
All artists who submit designs for the contest will be
recognized and the winner will be announced at an
event later this fall. Amizade is hoping to serve as an
avenue through which promising artistic talent can be
harnessed and recognized.
The logo should be appropriate for every imaginable
use, including T-shirts, letterhead, posters, fliers, pins,
luggage tags, etc. Questions or concerns about the
contest should be directed to Amizade's Outreach
Coordinator, Eric Hartman, at ehartman@amizade.org.
The submission deadline is October 25. Submissions
may be made by email to ehartman@amizade.org or by
snail mail to: Amizade; Attn: Eric Hartman; 920 William
Pitt Union; Pittsburgh, PA 15260. Applicants who would
like to have their submission returned should include a
self-addressed stamped envelope.
Review the website: Design the logo »
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| Snow in Gardiner? Giving Hope for the Holidays - By Cate Hodorowicz |
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Deck the halls with boughs of holly - and gifts to
Amizade! Though it seems summer just gave way to
the new school year, the holiday season is already a
few weeks away. Regardless of creed, no doubt your
time with family and friends will be one of celebration
and giving. But as you reflect upon blessings given and
received, take time to extend the holiday spirit outside
your family by giving to Amizade. Not only is this a way
to include the larger global community in a gesture of
peace and understanding, but it also illustrates your
support of volunteering and cross-cultural exchange.
Even a small amount of money goes a long way in the
developing world, and you can choose to earmark your
tax-deductible donation for particular program sites.
For example, after returning from the Bolivia site last
year, volunteers Martie and Marvin Wachs gave one
another Amizade donations for Christmas. Their love
and generosity enabled the furnishing of the Hogar de
Ninos orphanage where the Wachs had spent two
weeks constructing new buildings for the children.
You can also give for further program site development,
which will allow Amizade to reach more communities and
build bridges to more cultures. You can even choose to
create a particular kind of scholarship. These are both
great ways to include the person on your holiday gift
list who has 'everything:' by making a donation to
Amizade in her/his name, you will always know your gift
is not only fitting and useful, but of lasting importance.
No matter how you decide to support Amizade programs
this holiday season, your gift will help ensure another
year of Amizade's commitment to changing lives,
communities, and perceptions through volunteering. All
donations meet genuine community needs through
efforts that emphasize sustainability and independence,
and Amizade will keep all donors updated on site
progress spurred through their donations. So as you
bake cookies, sing carols and make snow angels, take a
moment to commemorate the true meaning of the
holiday season by giving to Amizade. Now more than
ever, the spirit of love and global understanding needs
to be furthered. It is the most important and heartfelt
gift anyone could give.
Donate to Amizade »
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| Ensuring a Future for the OTO: What, Why, and How? |
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Scores of Amizade volunteers have cleared, chopped,
drug, dug, swept, and sweated in efforts to preserve
the environmental and historical beauty of the OTO
Dude Ranch near Gardiner, Montana. Pending US Forest
Service Plans will determine
whether future Amizade volunteers are permitted to
preserve the OTO. The only way to ensure a continued
partnership between the Forest Service and Amizade is
for former Amizade volunteers, who have worked hard
to
preserve the site, to write the USFS with their
concerns.
Please begin writing today. All responses
to the proposed action for the OTO must be received
by October 25, 2002. To ensure continued
access for small groups interested in performing
historical and environmental preservation at the OTO,
everyone that is committed to the OTO must comment.
Specifically, you should write that you agree with the
balance between educational and volunteer group
access, historical restoration, and environmental
preservation that is managed in the "OTO TRACT
FOREST PLAN AMENDMENT," FILE CODE: 1950/5140.
All comments should be sent to: Walt Allen,
Interdisciplinary Team Leader; USDA Forest Service -
Supervisor's Office; P.O. Box 130, Bozeman, MT 59771.
When you send a letter, please
email Outreach Coordinator Eric Hartman at
ehartman@amizade.org so we can keep track of the
number of
letters that the USFS will receive. Comments, including
names and address of those who
respond, will be part of the public record. Anonymous
comments will be considered, but those who submit
anonymously lose their right to appeal. Everyone who
has benefitted from the OTO experience must take a
moment to write a letter to the USFS. You will influence
policy regarding the OTO.
Write for the OTO! - Click for a Sample Letter
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