AMIGOS offers multiple pathways to your transformative service and immersion experience. All students who join AMIGOS do so through either a local chapter or the National Chapter. The chapter you join determines the types of activities in which you will participate before you leave for your AMIGOS program. It also influences the cost of our Summer Programs.
All students aged 13-22 who join a Summer or Gap Program are eligible to join the National Chapter. Students joining summer programs for 15–19-year-olds have the option of joining a local chapter if they live in one of the 10 areas where local chapters exist.
There are currently active local chapters in Albuquerque, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City, Portland*, San Francisco/East Bay, San Francisco/North Bay, Seattle, Tucson, and Washington, DC. To join a local chapter, you must live within driving distance to the chapter to be able to attend in-person meetings.
All students joining our Summer Programs for 13-14 year olds and our Gap Programs for 17-22 year olds do so through the National Chapter.
*Please note the Portland Chapter does not accept volunteers enrolled in 2-week programs.
Local chapters are a fantastic opportunity to build community and gain in-person support before your Summer Program. Local chapters have an earlier application deadline for summer programs because they provide in-person training activities in the spring with students from that area. They also engage in required group fundraising activities to lower the cost of the program and provide additional need-based financial assistance to qualifying families.
The National Chapter is a great option for students joining our Summer Programs if you don’t live in an area with a local chapter or if you have a schedule that conflicts with local, in-person activities in the spring. It’s a more flexible option for busy people! The National Chapter has a later application deadline for summer programs. Students participate in online training with volunteers from across the country. They also have the option to participate in fundraising activities to lower the cost of their program, but fundraising is not required. National Chapter families can also receive need-based financial assistance if eligible.
Gap program students also join through the National Chapter and have the option of participating in fundraising to lower program costs as well.
| Local Chapter |
| → Earlier application deadline |
| → In-person training |
| → Required group fundraising |
| → Lower pricing due to group fundraising |
| → Financial assistance from Chapter |
| National Chapter |
| → Later application deadline |
| → Online training |
| → Optional individual or cohort fundraising |
| → Higher pricing because fundraising is optional |
| → Financial assistance from National Office |
