The San Francisco chapter covers AMIGOS program costs through a combination of family fee payments and fundraising activities. We also offer financial aid (details below). The San Francisco chapter engages in a significant fundraising campaign to help support families, and especially seeks to provide the AMIGOS experience to all participants without regard to family financial circumstances.

The fundraising proceeds are pooled between all chapter families as a group through a letter writing campaign. Thus, the targeted fundraising amount will vary by year, depending on the number of participants and the needed amount of financial aid. All participants are required to fully take part in fundraising, which is an important component of the pre-summer training program. The chapter provides significant support to participants and families throughout the fundraising process.

LETTER WRITING

Each participant is required to send out a combination of letters and emails to friends and family, to request individual tax-deductible donations (the revenue from this effort is pooled). Letters are written by the participant with considerable help provided by the chapter during the process.

FEES

Application Fee: $50

Family Fee: $4,250

• Alumni receive an additional $500 discount

FEES INCLUDE

• Round-trip international airfare
• Training materials and workshops
• Secondary short-term international medical insurance
• Program excursions
• Food, lodging, and transportation in Latin America
• Supplies for community project and extracurricular activities
• 24-hour On Call Emergency Management System
• Travel hotline and support

Click here for more information about our Fees & Funding.

DUE DATES AND PAYMENT OPTIONS

• Participants pay their family fees beginning December 15, 2018. The fee must be paid by April 15, 2019.
• Fees can be paid online or by mail.
• Payment plans are available.

AMIGOS actively recruits and supports inclusion of participants from diverse backgrounds. Financial aid is need-based, and is applied to the SF chapter fee ($4,250). This means that if a family receives financial aid, it is not exempt from the group fundraising/letter writing described above. Financial aid applications are due at the final application deadline or December 3rd, and decisions will be communicated before the end of December. The amount of total available financial aid depends on the year, and the amount per participant varies depending on demonstrated family need, the amount of aid applications and total participants the chapter has in a given year.

The transformative AMIGOS experience starts before leaving home.

With over 50 years of experience preparing young people for travel and service abroad, AMIGOS training offers unparalleled global youth leadership development. Pre-departure training equips participants with the critical thinking, communication skills, and technical knowledge they need to make a meaningful impact across cultures while staying healthy and safe. The San Francisco Chapter AMIGOS training is youth-led, experiential learning that prepares participants for their AMIGOS experience, builds a community of youth and families with shared values, and develops life-skills to help participants succeed beyond AMIGOS. Training sessions are facilitated by the Training Team and include guest speakers from the community and the San Francisco Chapter Board of Directors.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM INCLUDE:

• Unparalleled leadership development
• Cross-cultural awareness and understanding
• Hands-on training for technical aspects of the program
• Extensive health and safety training
• Opportunities to practice Spanish
• Creating a community of young people with shared values

THE TIME COMMITMENT FOR TRAINING ACTIVITIES INCLUDES:

• Seven weekend afternoon trainings
• Two overnight retreats

2019 TRAINING CALENDAR

Sunday, Jan/27
Training #1: 10:00am – 2:00pm

Saturday-Sunday, Feb/9-10
Overnight Retreat/Training #2
5:00pm – 11:00am

Sunday, Feb/24
Training #3: 10:00am – 2:00pm

Sunday, Mar/10
Training #4: 10:00am – 2:00pm

Sunday, Mar/24
Training #5: 10:00am – 2:00pm

Sunday, Apr/7
Training #6: 10:00am – 2:00pm

Saturday, Apr/20
Training #7: 10:00am – 2:00pm

Saturday-Sunday, May/4-5
Overnight Retreat/Training #8
5:00pm – 11:00am

Sunday, May/19 – Despedida

(Dates and times are subject to change)