Amigos de las Americas HQ

AMIGOS equips young people to become the rising leaders our communities need. We challenge students to realize their full potential through transformational experiences in cultural exchange and service.

As volunteers, our students develop strong personal leadership skills, become committed and active citizens, and thrive in cross-cultural environments. They use empathy and social and emotional intelligence training to expand their leadership skills. They connect with one another across cultures to grow their cultural competence. They expand their ability to address issues based on community needs and resources - strengthening their ability to lead and serve for a lifetime.

Our students explore topics such as local conservation initiatives, the root causes of climate change and the application of local mitigation efforts against climate change, local food production and farming practices, and other topics while collaborating with local communities through hands-on service work.

We are committed to engaging youth from all socioeconomic backgrounds in our life-changing programs. We use a sliding scale fee structure and provide direct financial assistance awards to serve students with financial need. We also have two programs that are underwritten by either private donors or federal grant awards. These fully donor-funded programs have allowed AMIGOS to innovate and develop new program models to reach even more youth across the Americas. Finally, the Partnerships Fund allows AMIGOS to reach U.S. students who would not be able to participate without the financial and pre-program support provided by both AMIGOS and our partner organizations.

After their AMIGOS experience, alumni continue to be leaders in their home communities. One such leader is alumna Anne Morriss, a serial entrepreneur. You can read her testimony that highlights the impact of our organization on her relationship to the concept of leadership on our blog, La Carta: https://amigosinternational.org/la_carta/alumni-spotlight-anne-morriss/.

AMIGOS offers immersion and service programming to middle-school-, high-school-, and college-aged youth. All programs include varying degrees of the following components, which enable volunteers to develop into community leaders:

Community-Led Service
AMIGOS volunteers work on a community-led service project. Every service project is unique and channels each young person's unique positive youth development and capacity for community service. The impact of their service is meaningful because our programs are driven by the needs and resources of local communities.

Cultural Exchange
Volunteers step outside of their comfort zones to learn about themselves and others in a new cultural context. Whether in a virtual exchange program or immersed in a community in a different country, students are given the opportunity to truly engage with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. The intention is that our volunteers walk away with not just a global awareness but with a global perspective.

Independence
Our students are given the opportunity for independence and self-direction at a level unparalleled in comparison to other international youth leadership organizations in the field. Our programs help volunteers remove the barriers that hold them back from manifesting their autonomy. They gain an increased sense of responsibility for one's self and what impact they wish to make in the world.

Training and Mentorship
Students build their leadership and community engagement skills through hands-on training and one-on-one mentorship. This allows students to experience the independence needed to grow as leaders but with the support of a passionate facilitator and guide.

Future Leadership Opportunities
After AMIGOS, volunteers join an alumni network of more than 30,000 engaged leaders across the globe.

58 Years of Experience
In 1965, AMIGOS founder Guy Bevil, a 29-year-old youth director, led a group of high school students and medical professionals into rural Honduras to counteract a growing polio epidemic. Every year thereafter, young people have joined AMIGOS to learn from communities throughout the Americas and volunteer in locally-driven community-service projects.

AMIGOS has become an expert in providing youth meaningful experiences in applying asset-based community development theory. AMIGOS provides the only truly immersive and independent leadership development experience of this magnitude for youth.

In-Country Partnerships
At the very heart of our program model, partner agencies are local organizations that share our goal of engaging young people as leaders and global citizens. We have built strong relationships with a network of partner agencies throughout the Americas over our 58-year history. Since our founding, AMIGOS has partnered with more than 300 schools and universities, government ministries, international development agencies, and local nonprofits.

While these partners amplify our impact, we also amplify the forms of impact they are making. We work with our partners to develop region-specific work plans, incorporating our programs with the organizational goals of our partners. They help us consider community interests, identify host families and communities, and monitor safety in the region. Our partners are critical to the success and sustainability of our work.

Official Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
AMIGOS believes in the power and wisdom of all people. We embrace diversity at AMIGOS with respect to race, nationality, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion, age, ability, gender, and sexual orientation.

We commit to eliminating barriers to representation and inclusion within the AMIGOS organization and in our programs. We uplift different life experiences, belief systems, and opinions through our work with volunteers, communities, and partners.

Our Alumni
We are proud of the more than 30,000 AMIGOS alumni who have completed our programs. In a poll of program volunteers from the years 1965-2012, more than 90% of respondents said that the AMIGOS experience affected them in the following ways:
-Greatly impacted their career paths and increased their ability to be effective leaders;
-Increased their multicultural awareness and respect for differing cultural norms;
-Improved their self-confidence, communication skills, and problem-solving skills; and
-Provided them with skills and qualities that are attractive to future and current employers.

They become leaders in their own communities and often speak about the lifelong impact of their AMIGOS experience.

“I gained insight into how similar people are across the world even when they belong to different cultures."

"AMIGOS was the most challenging experience of my life. I already feel like I've learned to be more level-headed and persistent. I've gained an immense amount of gratitude as well as humility."

"AMIGOS helped focus my career path. I am currently a scientific researcher at UC San Francisco focusing on drug discovery. One of our therapeutic targets is Chagas Disease, which is endemic in Latin America. Our collaborators on this project include researchers from Argentina and Brazil."

"Even though it was 20 years ago, I still tell stories of my days in Ecuador. It was one of the most profound experiences of my lifetime."

Financial Assistance
AMIGOS provides financial assistance to youth from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. We know that our programs are most impactful when we connect youth from diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. Currently, we offer more than $300,000 in financial assistance each year.

As we look ahead, we are thrilled to open new programs in the U.S. and throughout Latin America and to continue operating transformational opportunities for students who are inspired to lead positive change in the world.