HOW TO JOIN
READY TO APPLY?
The deadline to apply to the local San Francisco/North Bay Chapter of AMIGOS has passed. We are still accepting applications through our National Chapter! You can learn more about the National Chapter here.
CONTACT
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Carly Ball at [email protected].
ABOUT
The AMIGOS San Francisco-North Bay Chapter is part of a 10 Chapter Network that recruits, trains, and supports AMIGOS volunteers and families in their local community. Volunteers from San Francisco train together as a group before leaving for their summer experience in Latin America. Our board supports volunteers and families with group fundraising, service learning, community building, and overall preparation. Learn more about our Summer Programs here!
History
Since the San Francisco-North Bay Chapter’s incorporation in 2013, over 150 youth from San Francisco and its surrounding suburbs have volunteered through the chapter path, fundraising and training locally before the summer.
Current Volunteers
San Francisco-North Bay Chapter volunteers attend Lowell High School, Marin Academy, Marin Catholic, Redwood High School, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, San Francisco University High School, San Rafael High, School of the Arts, San Francisco Waldorf School, and many more!
OUR CHAPTER’S IDENTITY
The San Francisco-North Bay Chapter seeks to embody our city and its communities. We’ve identified the following values as central to our chapter identity:
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
It is our mission to support every student that wants to participate in AMIGOS, regardless of family income. We offer a range of financial assistance packages on a case-by-case basis and encourage you to apply and work with us to find a price point that works best for your family.
Example 1: if you are a family that makes $40,000 per year in San Francisco and choose the 4-week Costa Rica project, you can expect to pay around 16% of the program fee or ~$830, reduced from $5,175 (not including airfare).
Example 2: if you are a family that makes $80,000 per year in San Francisco and choose the 2-week Panama project, you can expect to pay around 32% of the program fee or ~$1,300, reduced from $4,075 (not including airfare).
Example 3: if you are a family that makes $125,000 per year in San Francisco and choose the 6-week Ecuador project, you can expect to pay around 60% of the program fee or ~$3,100, reduced from $5,175 (not including airfare).
While this income scale represents a potential range for family fee, each financial assistance application is reviewed for special circumstances that may not be represented in family income. Our goal is to make the Amigos program as accessible as possible.
The San Francisco-North Bay Chapter will waive the $75 application fee for financial assistance applicants. On the application, students should select that they intend to apply for financial assistance. Then, at the end of the application, they should select, “I request a fee waiver”.
The chapter will wait for all financial assistance applications to come in before reviewing. They will meet the week of January 16th. Families can expect to hear about their FA award after they have attended interview day on 1/27, along with their acceptance into the program. Families can be confident that our sliding scale is accurate to what they will be offered, and we are happy to talk to any families that have questions before then.
The Financial Assistance Application is a separate application available to complete through your dashboard. Please contact the Chapter Treasurer at [email protected] for more information.
ADDITIONAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
All alumni interested in volunteering again with AMIGOS qualify to apply for the Alumni Award. We highly encourage you to apply for financial assistance.
RESOURCES:
- All alumni interested in volunteering again with AMIGOS qualify to apply for the Alumni Award.
- To learn more about program fees, check out the Fees and Financial Assistance webpage.
CONTACT:
- Please reach out to the AMIGOS San Francisco-North Bay Treasurer with any questions regarding financial assistance via email at [email protected].
TRAINING
The transformative AMIGOS experience starts before leaving home.
With over 55 years of experience preparing young people for travel and service abroad, AMIGOS training offers unparalleled global youth leadership development. Pre-departure training equips volunteers 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 volunteers for their AMIGOS experience, builds a community of youth and families with shared values, and develops life-skills to help students succeed beyond AMIGOS. Training sessions are facilitated by the Training Team and include guest speakers from the community and the San Francisco-North Bay 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
TRAINING CALEnDAR
All training meetings, except for the overnight, will be held at the Presidio Sports Basement in The Dairy from 1-5pm (610 Old Mason Street San Francisco, CA 94129).
- February 18
- March 2-3 – Overnight Retreat (Details TBD)
- March 17
- April 14
- April 21
- April 28
- May 5
- May 18, 10:30AM-12PM – Goodbye Party @ Mountain Lake Picnic Site in San Francisco
FUNDRAISING
GROUP FUNDRAISING
AMIGOS San Francisco-North Bay provides chapter discounts, offers financial assistance, and covers local program costs through fundraising activities. The chapter engages in a significant fundraising campaign to help support families, and especially seeks to provide the AMIGOS experience to all volunteers 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 volunteers and the needed amount of financial assistance. All volunteers 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 students and families throughout the fundraising process.
LETTER WRITING/DONOR CONTACTS
Each volunteer is required to send out a combination of 75 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 student with considerable help provided by the chapter during the process. The campaign will take place between February and April 2024. Please note that stamps are not an expense that is covered by the chapter.
To see some of our fundraising efforts from last year, check out our Summer 2023 CauseVox Campaign here.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Lucy Schaefer
President
[email protected]
Bill Rusitzky
Treasurer
[email protected]
Suzanne Bryan
Secretary
[email protected]
Andrea Richerson
At-Large
Whitney Wright
At-Large
Carly Ball
Recruitment
[email protected]
Charlotte Doughty
Training Director
[email protected]
Dorothy Nugent
Training Director
[email protected]
