|
|
Austin Chapter Newsletter Fall '09Sign up for our e-mail list to stay updated on Austin Amigos! Feel free to forward our newsletter to your friends. | |
Greetings from Our Co-Presidents:
Prior to departing, Austin volunteers participated in the Austin Chapter training program led by our excellent training directors, Ryan Pechacek (AMIGOS alumnus, Panama 2004) and Katie Hathaway (AMIGOS alumnus, Nicaragua 2007). In addition to participating in a variety of leadership development and cross-cultural understanding activities, Austin volunteers created and implemented a Saturday-morning leadership program for Spanish-speaking 3rd grade students at Wooldridge Elementary. The six-session program, entitled “AMIGOS Super Quail Leaders Program”, included team-building, problem-solving, and communication activities and dynamics. All activities were planned and led by our Austin volunteers. In addition to rave reviews of the program by the participants, the Wooldridge students can still be seen wearing their fashionable AMIGOS Super Quail t-shirts. As we look forward to next year, we would like to take a moment to look back and recognize our Austin AMIGOS young leaders and out-going Board members from this past year. Our outstanding 2008-09 AMIGOS Austin volunteers were:
Many thanks also to our outgoing Austin Chapter Board members from 2008-09:
The 2009-10 Program Year is off to a great start. We held three information sessions throughout Austin as well as numerous presentations in high schools Spanish classes, at a teacher inservice, and via newspapers, newsletters and a radio interview. Throughout these efforts, our volunteers from this past year and their families have been key in spreading their enthusiasm for Amigos. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed. We also encourage AMIGOS supporters to reach out to young people in the Austin area who may be interested in becoming a volunteer. If you know of a young person with leadership potential and interest in learning about different cultures, please refer him/her to Ellen Bond at ellen@austinamigos.com. Volunteers must be 16 years old, have completed their sophomore year, have two years of high school Spanish or equivalent, and be committed to the AMIGOS’ mission to participate. We aim to begin training sessions for this program year on December 6, 2009. The AMIGOS Austin Chapter is founded 100% on the spirit and energy of Austin area volunteers. Many of our board are parents of AMIGOS volunteers, have served previously as AMIGOS volunteers, or have a great dedication to community development - both here and abroad. We are fortunate to have an energetic and dedicated Board for 2009-10, which includes:
For this coming year, we look forward to reconnecting with AMIGOS alumni and AMIGOS supporters in the Austin area while furthering the AMIGOS mission of community development, youth leadership, and multi-cultural understanding. Please check our website for upcoming events (www.austinamigos.org). On behalf of the Austin Chapter, we are delighted to help support young people from Austin to serve as leaders in their own communities and abroad. Please join us in building the Austin Chapter! | |
|
Kind regards, |
|
|
|
|
|
Many thanks to The Griffin School for providing the space for our training sessions in 2010. "The Griffin School is a college preparatory high school empowering a community of learners through a focus on the arts." Donate safely to Austin Amigos through JustGive.org. Answers:
| |
My Summer in La Rubia, Dominican Republic
| |
My Summers with Amigos
| |
AMIGOS Austin Chapter Alumni Spotlight: Darien Clary
| |
AMIGOS Austin Chapter Fiesta
| |
Thank you to our 2009 Fiesta Supporters and Donors! | |
|
GOLD SILVER BRONZE |
COPPER SPECIAL THANKS |
AMIGOS Austin Chapter Sends Best Wishes to Emily Untermeyer!
Emily Untermeyer, President of Amigos de las Americas, has announced that she will be leaving her position at the end of this year’s summer programs. Emily took the helm of AMIGOS in 1998 and has provided over 11 years of outstanding leadership with the organization. Emily’s leadership within the organization runs deep. She was an AMIGOS volunteer in Guatemala in 1969 and Colombia in 1970. Then, in 1971, Emily blazed the trail of gender equity within the organization and became the first female project staff member (can one imagine a time without women leaders in AMIGOS, who now lead at all levels of the organization?!? We thank you Emily). She then served on project staff from 1971 through 1973 in Nicaragua and Paraguay. Using our editorial freedom, we have to infer that her many leadership contributions to the organization were no doubt influenced by her being a resident of Austin at the time. In addition to graduate training in public health at the University of North Carolina, Emily served for many years as the Executive Director of the Texas Cancer Council, based in Austin, Texas. While living in Austin, Emily served on the International Board of Director of AMIGOS from 1990 - 1996. Continue with story here | |
|
Amigos de las Americas Austin Chapter, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization || austinamigos.org Sign up for our e-mail list to stay updated on Austin Amigos! To unsubscribe, enter your email address below. 
|
|
This past year eight local Austin area high school students demonstrated once again that young people can make a positive difference in strengthening our communities. In 2008-09, the Austin Chapter of Amigos de las Americas trained and supported 8 young leaders (from the Austin area) to engage in a range of community service projects both in Austin and in Latin America. AMIGOS Austin volunteers traveled to one of six countries (Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Paraguay) where they lived with local families and partnered with community leaders and community groups on a variety of health and development initiatives. Volunteers built libraries in Panama, constructed communal kitchens for rural elementary schools in Honduras, organized local fundraising initiatives for the creation of a trash-pick up system in the Dominican Republic, and carried out educational and leadership workshops in all countries, among many other development initiatives. Beyond the community service initiatives, the Austin volunteers developed a deeper understanding and appreciation for the diversity of cultures in Latin America. What is mate? What is gallo pinto? What is a mola? Who says “¡Tú ta loco!”?. Ask any Austin volunteer (and keep reading below for the answers...). 
As part of our newsletter efforts, we have created a new section to spotlight our veteran AMIGOS Austin volunteers. For this first edition, we are honored to spotlight Darien Clary, who was an AMIGOS volunteer with the Austin Chapter in 1996 and who served as a volunteer in Oaxaca. Having recently completed her Master of Public Health degree at the University of Texas School of Public Health, Darien is currently living in the Dominican Republic, working with Columbia University Center for Environment, Economy and Society. We asked Darien to share some of her experiences with AMIGOS and her current work:
It was a perfect spring evening at Laguna Gloria for Fiesta 09. With jazzy Latino music by the Crying Monkeys, delicious food from El Chile, Amigos friends, new and old visited with the volunteers and bid on fabulous auction items. As our major fundraiser it was very successful, but it was also a wonderful opportunity to introduce the summer’s volunteers and their project assignments. A highlight for many was a large map of Central America and Mexico where former volunteers noted their countries and assignments and took time to write words of encouragement to the new volunteers. Mark your calendars now for Fiesta 2010 at Laguna Gloria, Thursday, May 6, 2010.