Amigos de las Americas

Amigos de las Américas (AMIGOS) builds partnerships to empower young leaders, advance community development and strengthen multicultural understanding in the Americas. Supported by a strong network of Pan-American chapters, teenagers and young adults from diverse backgrounds work successfully with host communities and partner agencies to address health and education priorities. AMIGOS Volunteers immerse themselves in the lives of their host communities and truly experience collaborative development work. During its 45-year history, more than 23,000 AMIGOS Volunteers have gained a life-long commitment to community service, while strengthening multicultural understanding and friendships in the Americas. The AMIGOS story began in 1965 when a visionary, 29-year-old youth pastor named Guy Bevil led a team of teenagers into rural Honduras to fight a growing polio epidemic. Their efforts protected thousands of lives from the crippling disease, while establishing new friendships between the people of Honduras and the United States. This first group of AMIGOS Volunteers returned home far more mature, appreciative of other cultures, and aware of the personal benefits of helping others. Their success underscored that young people can make a positive difference in the world. More than 45 years have passed since that first summer, and more than 23,000 young people have followed in Guy's footsteps. AMIGOS has remained headquartered in Houston, but has grown throughout the United States, with affiliated chapters in more than 2 dozen major cities. Today we focus more on skill-building for youth (from both the United States and Latin America) and have conducted a much broader array of health and education activities in response to priorities identified by our host communities. Even as our activities have evolved to meet the changing health and development needs of Latin America, our core values have remained the same. We still believe in the power of youth.