AMIGOS, a youth service organization that provides leadership and community service opportunities for young people, is forming a new chapter in The Woodlands.
Houston Community Newspapers
December 2007
Members will participate in about 40 hours of training throughout the year, including two events to get acquainted with the Houston chapter.
Founded in 1965 in Houston, AMIGOS is an international, nonprofit organization contributing to the well-being of hundreds of communities throughout the Americas. During its 42-year history, more than 20,000 AMIGOS volunteers have gained a life-long commitment to community service while strengthening multicultural understanding and friendships in the Americas. AMIGOS is recruiting new members from 16 years to college age to participate in projects next summer in many Latin American communities.
Alex Holdford, a TWHS student, participated in a six-week project in Michoacan, Mexico last summer where he lived with a native family, describing it as an "awesome experience."
For Celdie Sanabria, AMIGOS representative for The Woodlands, her 1985 trip to Panama as a college student for an AMIGOS project was life changing.
"After my first trip, I went two more summers and became hooked for life," she said. "I loved doing the service projects, meeting new people and helping different communities. It became a passion, and now I work with the AMIGOS staff.
"We've had students start here and move on to serve in the Peace Corps or other global service organizations."
Volunteers live with families in communities and work in small teams on projects such as construction of libraries, playgrounds and schools. They also lead youth-to-youth projects that promote healthy social development in host communities.
Projects last from six to eight weeks during the summer. Students are responsible for raising funds for part of the fee and the chapter works on group fundraising projects during the year. Some scholarships are available.
Adult volunteers are needed for The Woodlands' chapter to work with the youth training and to handle administrative functions.
"There is such a sense of accomplishment that comes from having made a difference with these projects," Sanabria said. "You feel so much more connected with the world and become excited about new developments in education and medicine. You really develop a global perspective.
"The end result is usually a lot more involvement in the student's local community too."
