Amigos International Tucson Chapter Information Night presentation

2. Mission
Statement
Amigos
de
las
Américas
inspires
and
builds
young
leaders
through
collabora8ve
community
development
and
cross
cultural
experiences.

3. AMIGOS History
• Founded in 1965
• 50 years of
experience in
Latin America

4. Tucson Chapter
• Founded in 1968
• One of 28 chapters across the US
• Successfully trained more than 600 participants to date
• Consistently a top tier chapter for participant performance and
satisfaction

5. Project Structure
• Experienced Project Leadership Team
• Partnerships of 2-3 participants
• Small to medium sized communities
• Participants collaborate with community members and local partner
organizations
• Project theme

6. What do participants do?
• Live with host family
• Collaborate on 1 (or
more) community led
projects
• Facilitate educational
workshops

7. Participant 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

8. What are the living conditions?
• Host family
• Small to medium sized communities
• Range of rural to urban

9. Project Themes
• Environmental
sustainability
• Youth Entrepreneurship
• Public Health/Nutrition
• Sports and Fitness
• Civic Participation and
Youth Leadership

10. Can I pick my project?
• Select top 3-5 projects
• 12 projects in 8 countries
• 4-9 weeks
• National Office assigns final projects
• Costa Rica
• Ecuador
• Mexico
• Dominican
Republic
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Colombia

11. AMIGOS participants gain...
• Leadership and public
speaking skills
• Confidence
• Community development
experience
• Spanish languages abilities
• Cultural awareness and
sensitivity
• Opportunities to continue the
AMIGOS experience

12. What is training like?
• January through May
• Every Monday Night, 6:45 to 9:00 p.m.
• 3 Weekend Retreats (Jan/Feb/Apr)
• Parent meetings once per month

13. Who can be an AMIGO?
• 16 years old by December 2016
• Completed sophomore year of high school
• Two years of high school Spanish or equivalent
• Passion and Commitment

14. How much does it cost?
• $2,550 Family Fee*
• Broken into monthly
payments
• $4,100 Fundraising
• Includes chapter
training, travel, food,
lodging, and insurance
for the duration of the
project, project supplies
*Limited amount of financial aid available. Deadline to apply for financial
aid is October 11

15. How does fundraising work?
• Letter writing campaign
• Fundraising events
• Part of training program

16. Stories from past participants

17. I’m interested, what
do I do now?

18. Application process
Apply
• Complete Application
• 2 personal references (Spanish Teacher)
• DUE DATE- October 11th, 2015 *
Interview
• Interviews for applicant and parents
• October 19, 20, 21 (in evening)
• Applicant Spanish interview
Accept
• Notification of acceptance October 31st
• Sign and return Chapter Agreement by Nov. 14th
• Volunteer and Parent Orientation Nov. 22nd
*including any/all financial aid paperwork

19. Contact Us
Erik Yoder, Chapter President
gwshark63@gmail.com
Lauren Simonis, Training Director
laurensimonis7@gmail.com
Rebecca O’Brien, Paperwork Coordinator
robrien@rllaz.com
Websites:
tucson.amigosinternational.org
amigosinternational.org

20. Questions?