The document provides information about Amigos de las Americas, a nonprofit that places high school volunteers with host families in Latin America to work on community service projects. It details Amigos' 54-year history and mission to develop young leaders through cross-cultural immersion. Volunteers live with screened host families and work in small towns on themes like sustainable agriculture, environmental conservation, and youth empowerment. The Tucson chapter has trained over 600 volunteers for projects in countries like Costa Rica, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Peru.

2. Get Out of Your Element
with AMIGOS!

3. Mission Statement
Amigos de las Americas inspires and builds
young leaders through collaborative
community development and immersion in
cross cultural experiences.

4. AMIGOS History
• Founded in 1965
• 54 years of experience in Latin
America
• Over 28,000 alumni across the
Americas

5. Tucson Chapter
• Founded in 1968
• One of 25 chapters across the US
• Successfully trained more than 600 volunteers to date
• Consistently a top tier chapter for volunteer performance
and satisfaction

6. Project Structure
• Experienced Project Leadership Team
• Partnerships of 2-3 volunteers
• Volunteers collaborate with community members and local partner
organizations
• Each project has a theme

7. What do
volunteers do?
• Live with a host family
• Collaborate on one or more
community led projects
• Engage local school children in
activities related to the project
theme

8. Volunteer Safety
Chapter training
Standards of Conduct
Partner system
and in-country staff
Living areas
Communties and host families are
screened in advance
CALM Plan
Flexibility in program if necessary
Volunteer Safety is
#1

9. What are the
living
conditions?
• Host family (screened by
AMIGOS)
• Small to medium
sized communities
• Range of rural to
urban locations

10. Project Themes
• Engaging Local Resources
• Protect biodiversity Through National Park
Conservation
• Equality Through Sports and Team Work
• Supporting Microenterprise
• Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security
• Youth Empowerment: Inspiring Growth in
Community
• Community and Environmental Health

11. Summer
Programs
2020
o Costa Rica
o Palmares- 6 weeks
o Perez Zeledon- two 4 week options
o Dominican Republic
o Barahona- two 4 week options
o Ecuador
o Chimborazo- 6 weeks
o Cuenca- 8 weeks
o Santa Elena- 6 weeks
o Panama
o Azuero- 6 weeks
o Cocle- 4 and 6 weeks
o Peru
o 6 and 8 week options
o Mystery project- more
details to come!

12. AMIGOS volunteers gain...
• Leadership skills
• Confidence
• Experience working with
community members
• Improved Spanish skills
• Cultural sensitivity
• Opportunities to stay
involved with AMIGOS

13. What is training like?
• Welcome Potluck December 15th
• 3 Monday night meetings per month (January - May)
• 6:45 to 9:00 p.m.
• 3 Weekend Retreats (Jan/Feb/Apr)
• 3 Parent Meetings

14. • 15 years old by project start date
• Completed sophomore year of high school
• 2 years of high school Spanish or equivalent
• Passion & commitment
Who can be an AMIGO?

15. How much does it cost?
• $2,997 Family Fee*
• Broken into monthly
payments
• $3,900 Fundraising goal
• Includes chapter
training, travel, food,
lodging, insurance
for the duration of the
project, and project
supplies
*Limited amount of financial assistance available.
Deadline to apply for financial aid is November 4th

16. How does
fundraising
work?
• Letter writing
campaign
• Support running
event in April
• Both activities part
of training program

17. Stories from past volunteers

18. A parent’s perspective

19. I’m interested, what do I do now?

20. Application process
Apply
• Complete the Online Application (choose your top
project)
• THE SOONER THE BETTER!
• Priority and financial assistance deadline is
November 4th *
Interview
• Interview for applicant and parents
• Spanish interview for applicant
Accept
• Notified of acceptance within 2 weeks of interview
• Sign and return Chapter Agreement by Dec. 15th
• Welcome Potluck Dec. 15th
*including any/all financial aid paperwork

21. Contact Us!
Lucy Weeks
Chapter President
president@amigos-tucson.org
Nicole Parks
Training Director
trainingdirector@amigos-tucson.org
Hannah Ball
Recruitment Coordinator
recruitment@amigos-tucson.org
Websites:
tucson.amigosinternational.org
www.amigosinternational.org

22. Questions?