HOW TO JOIN

AMIGOS gives you an exciting chance to have an adventure and explore the world outside of a classroom. You will live in a new country with a host family and work on sustainable community service projects. These experiences prepare you for your future, improve your Spanish, and build your confidence. You develop leadership skills that will set you apart in college and throughout your career. With AMIGOS, you will learn about the world by living in it. Click here to explore our Summer Programs.

 

The SF/NB Chapter application deadline for Summer 2025 has passed. We encourage you to apply through the National Chapter!

 

READY TO APPLY?
  1. Explore our website. Check out our programs and review our admissions requirements.
  2. Learn more about the National Chapter path.
  3. Attend an HQ-led online information session or schedule a counseling call.
  4. Submit your application (it should take around 30 minutes or less) and pay the $75 application fee to hold your spot. Questions or tech issues? Reach out to our Admissions team at [email protected].

 

Application Deadlines

The SF/NB Chapter deadline has passed. We encourage you to apply to join AMIGOS through our National Chapter.

    • March 11 – National Chapter Financial Assistance deadline
    • April 8 – National Chapter Session A Application Deadline
    • May 14 – National Chapter Session B & C Application Deadline

 

Information sessions

We encourage interested students to watch the below information session recording with a parent or guardian. This meeting reviews basic program information and chapter specifics such as financial assistance, funding, training, and service learning.

 

Interviews

The chapter will host an in-person interview day in mid-December (December 14, 2024) and another in late January (January 25, 2025). The interview is for the applicant and family and at least one parent or guardian must attend.

 

CONTACT

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Adrienne Long, Outreach Coordinator, via [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!

San Francisco-North Bay Chapter Summer 2024 volunteers!
San Francisco-North Bay Chapter Summer 2023 volunteers!
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:
SF AMIGOS Values

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 and choose the 3-week Costa Rica project, you can expect to pay around 16% of the program fee or ~$844 (not including airfare).

Example 2: If you are a family that makes $80,000 per year and choose the 3-week Panama project, you can expect to pay around 32% of the program fee or ~$1,560 (not including airfare).

Example 3: If you are a family that makes $125,000 per year and choose the 6-week Paraguay project, you can expect to pay around 60% of the program fee or ~$2,325 (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”.

Families can expect to hear about their financial assistance award after they have attended an interview day, 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.

Alumni and parents of alumni can earn discounts or cash payments for referring the next cohort of AMIGOS volunteers! Learn more about our Alumni Referral Program and sign up to receive your unique referral code.

RESOURCES:
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 60 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.

Volunteers at the overnight retreat.
Volunteers learning about the AMIGOS vision and mission.
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 will be held in a location that is convenient for San Francisco and North Bay folks.* Meetings will be held from 1-5pm, excluding the overnight.

  • February 2  1-4pm  Kick-Off (parents attend last 45 minutes) @ 2 Bryant St. Suite 300 San Francisco, CA 94105
  • February 23 – Sports Basement Stonestown 
  • March 15-16   Overnight Retreat @ NatureBridge Golden Gate in Marin Headlands
  • April 13
  • April 27
  • May 17   Despedida (parents and volunteers attend)** @ Mountain Lake Park 8th Avenue Picnic Tables, San Francisco

*The location of the training is subject to change. We will communicate any location changes as far in advance as possible.

**There are additional Service Learning and Spanish Practice sessions that will be added to this calendar.

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 2025. 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 2024 CauseVox Campaign here.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Andrea Richerson
President
[email protected]

 

Bill Rusitzky
Treasurer
[email protected]

 

Suzanne Bryan
Vice President/Secretary
[email protected]

 

Reed Clark
At-Large

 

Christopher Stern
At-Large

 

Whitney Wright
At-Large

 

Adrienne Long
Bay Area Outreach Coordinator
[email protected]

 

Charlotte Doughty
Training Director
[email protected]

 

Dorothy Nugent
Training Director
[email protected]

 

San Francisco-North Bay Chapter board members, alumni, and friends!