In 2020, AMIGOS de las americas faced the most challenging moment of change the organization has ever seen.
In March of 2020, for the first time in our 55-year history, we made the difficult decision to suspend all 2020 AMIGOS Summer Programs and the Spring Gap Program in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Out of concern for the health and safety of our volunteers, staff, host community members, and everyone in the AMIGOS family, we decided that we must act boldly to limit and slow the spread of this virus.
Despite this sudden shift and rapidly evolving, chaotic world, this change has given rise to great innovation in our programming.
In 2020, we launched our first-ever virtual programs, hosted the virtual Adelante Festival and Benefit, created the Civic Action Gap Semester with Tufts University, and began outlining a 2021 programming slate with in-person, virtual, and hybrid options. Through it all, more than 280 students have joined AMIGOS this year, each experiencing the transformational power of an AMIGOS program for themselves and their communities.
To celebrate this incredible achievement, here’s a more detailed look at OUR 2020 Amigos:
288 total students served across all AMIGOS programs.
There was a wide range of diversity in race and ethnicity in our programming, with over seven different identities represented.
In the United States, Amigos joined from 30 different states. From California to New York and everywhere in between, students came together to collaborate.
There were 11 countries represented throughout our programming, furthering cross-cultural connection around the world.
Out of the students who chose to identify their gender, 169 were female, 83 male, and 2 identified as other.
Programming featured a variety of incredible guest speakers! From youth activists to cultural scholars, global ambassadors to national journalists, a wide range of voices came together to share their ideas.
Through it all, AMIGOS prioritized accessibility – 60% of students received financial assistance.
Making an impact is much easier when you get to collaborate with fantastic partners! Over 16 organizations around the world worked with AMIGOS to help each volunteer became a global citizen.
2020 has reaffirmed that our vision of empowering leaders who share responsibility for their communities is critically important, today and for our future.
We have discovered that we can achieve great impact through programs in virtual formats. Meanwhile we remain committed to returning to in-person programming focused on deep immersion in a different community and culture. Every program that we will offer in 2021 will be a new model, building on the experiences we gained from developing our traditional program models in the first 56 years of our history.
AMIGOS has truly seen the power of youth committed to making an impact on the world around them.
Thank you to our volunteers, staff, host community members, partner organizations, local chapters, and everyone in the AMIGOS family for your time, energy, patience, support, hard work in 2020.
