Local service is a critical element of our Service Year, essential to our mission of creating lifetime humanitarians. Student participants must select a main local service site and establish a schedule for volunteering at that site by the December team meeting, and contribute 60 hours of local service during the Service Year. Student participants are responsible for recording and verifying exact dates and times of their service hours with service supervisors in their Youthlinc online Local Service Directory account.

Participants are responsible for following through on all Service Year requirements outlined in this document, participant manuals, team leadership emails, and in team meetings. Monthly team meeting attendance is mandatory, prepares participants for international service and leadership. Participants are responsible for committee assignments associated with the international service experience, which may include activities outside of monthly meeting times. It is the responsibility of each participant to contact Team Leaders and Youthlinc staff with questions or concerns.

By December 1, a $500 non-refundable and non-transferable deposit is due from each participant. This deposit holds your spot on that team. Participants who do not make this deposit will be dropped from the program. An applicant from the waiting list will be invited to participate on the team.

At General Orientation for the Service Year, our International Service Director will distribute costs and payment schedules for each international service trip. These costs are inclusive of flights, all in-country transport, accommodations, food, water, major medical and travel insurance (does not include trip cancellation insurance), and Youthlinc program fees. Youthlinc negotiates the best possible airfare for the group, determined as early as possible in the Service Year. Program costs do not include any required travel documentation (e.g. passport, visa) or any recommended vaccinations. Participants are also responsible for their personal expenses in -country, such as toiletries, souvenirs, extra food or beverages other than water.

Some students will apply for financial aid support for their international service trip costs. Recipients of financial aid will be notified by or before December.

By December 1, a $500 non-refundable and non-transferable deposit is due from each participant. This deposit holds your spot on that team. Participants who do not make this deposit will be dropped from the program. An applicant from the waiting list will be invited to participate on the team.
If a participant drops from the program after any deposits, payments, or non-renegotiable contracts are made to coordinators or agencies facilitating our international service experience, including airlines, those deposits or payments are also not refundable.
If a participant drops from the program 45 days or less from departure, all payments are non-refundable.
Youthlinc reserves the right to cancel or postpone service trips, and change international service sites, at its sole discretion when it deems it necessary or advisable due to local conditions or world events. In the event of any such change, $500 deposits remain non-refundable. Youthlinc may also be required to forfeit nonrefundable payments for airfare and hotel deposits. Any such forfeiture will be charged against participant payments on an equitable basis, as determined by Youthlinc. In such cases, a participant who wishes to serve on an alternate or postponed service trip, or a service trip to an international service site that has been changed, would be required to make up the shortfall.
In addition, as described above, amounts transferred to subsequent service trips will be reduced by an allocable portion of any forfeiture of deposits or payments that result from participant or Youthlinc initiated cancellations, postponements, or changes in response to world events or local conditions.
Personal donations made which are matched by corporate giving programs are not eligible for refund up to the amount that was matched by the company. No unrestricted or general charitable donations are refundable under any circumstances.
Any allowable refund must be requested by participants by June 1. No refunds will be issued until two weeks before departure. Any donations toward a participant’s international experience received after these deadlines will not be refundable, and will be allocated to project funds or sponsorships for the current or following Service Year program. Youthlinc makes every effort to contact participants about their refunds. Any allowable refund that is not collected by a participant after August 31 of any calendar year will be allocated to project funds or sponsorships. After August 31, our Year End, a participant can no longer collect an unclaimed refund.