Partners of the Americas was inspired by

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

, who in 1963 launched the

Alliance for Progress The Alliance for Progress ( es, Alianza para el Progreso, links=no), initiated by U.S. President John F. Kennedy on March 13, 1961, ostensibly aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America. Governor Luis Muñoz Marí ...

, a program of government-to-government economic cooperation across the Western Hemisphere. It is a 501(c)(3)

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

headquartered in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

How it works

At the heart of Partners is a “people-to-people” philosophy, which grew out of a 1962 call by President Kennedy for citizens of the Western Hemisphere to work together. Inspired by the challenge, Jim Boren, one of Partners founders, envisioned a two-way network of volunteer partnerships that would enable everyday people to contribute to the Americas. Today, Partners has evolved into 120 volunteer chapterspartners.net
linked in 60 partnerships. Chapters in U.S. states form partnerships with chapters in countries or states in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and the Caribbean. Each volunteer chapter is organized as a private, nonprofit institution with by-laws and regularly elected officers.

What Partners Does

Partners programs work in many fields and across a broad spectrum of society and the day-to-day lives of people throughout the Americas. Areas include: Child Protection, Education & Global Citizenship, and Economic Development & Health. Partners works as a grassroots organization that uses partnerships between U.S. states and Latin American countries or regions to foster cultural exchange and education. These partnerships are also used to address issues in the aforementioned areas through volunteer service and technical expertise.

References

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