The People Providing for Yosemite's Future
By Amy Arends, former Director of Development, The Yosemite Fund
For The Yosemite Fund Approach Spring 2010
“Just one word...People.
There's a great future in people.”
My apologies to the writers of the 1967 movie, “The Graduate” which singles out plastics as being the great future, but during my twelve years at the Fund I found myself repeatedly changing that famous line to reflect what I have learned: there's a great future in people, and people have made all the difference in Yosemite.
From the Native Americans who called it home to the thousands of National Park Service employees and the millions of first time and returning visitors, people have created positive change in this great Park. The Yosemite Fund and its people: donors, volunteers, staff and partners, continue to be at the forefront of that change by providing generous support to Yosemite National Park.
One of the best parts of my job was talking with people about why they give, and consistently I heard, “we love the Park,” and “the Park has been a significant part of our lives.” Our donors, people like you, have spent time in Yosemite with families, worked there as college students, were engaged/married/conceived there, and visited to seek solace, enlightenment and peace. The Yosemite Fund has been privileged during its 20+ year history to serve as a conduit for over 100,000 households helping them to give back to a place that has given them something.
Volunteers for the Fund are a core group of people that help us focus on our mission. From the volunteer leaders at the Board of Trustees and Council levels to the support of office volunteers and corporate employee volunteers giving their weekends to work in the Park, the Fund and Yosemite benefit immeasurably from their dedication and commitment. The seven Board Chairs have guided the organization from its small beginnings through significant growth and, most recently, a merger with the Yosemite Association, creating a vibrant organization that can do even more to help Yosemite.
And the people working for any one of the Fund's many partners cannot be forgotten. The six Yosemite Superintendents who have been at the helm during the last 20 years have led a staff of dedicated National Park Service employees. These people have created and managed more than 300 Fund-sponsored projects that are on-the-ground improvements at places like the approach to Lower Yosemite Fall, Glacier Point, Half Dome steps, Mt. Hoffmann, Olmsted Point, Parson's Lodge, Red Peak Pass Trail, Tunnel View, and many more.
There are many other people who represent the future of Yosemite. Like the school children from Schallenger Elementary School in San Jose who collected and donated pennies to help Yosemite, the almost 200 households who have chosen to leave the Fund in their estate plans — a gift of trust that the money will be used wisely far in the future to support the Park, and the many corporate protectors who have generously given in-kind gifts that help provide for Yosemite's future.
The future is people — without them our past, our present and future would not be as bright. People have a fundamental connection to Yosemite, and the Fund has been fortunate to engage those people who are motivated to give their time, talents and/or financial donations to help the Park. Now, the Park's and the Fund's futures are changing. As the Park welcomes a new Superintendent and the Fund has merged with the Yosemite Association, we are now welcoming new people to Yosemite and look forward to new ideas, new directions and doing more than ever to help Yosemite.
It's people like you who are providing for Yosemite's future. Thank you. There are many more dedicated donors and supporters who have worked tirelessly on behalf of the Fund. Without your help, our work in Yosemite would not be possible.