A divergent participant is any participant who diverges from the team for the purposes of tourism or any other activities unrelated to the team before or at any point during the team’s international trip, starting at and returning to the Salt Lake City airport. Any itinerary purchased by an individual team member or members rather than by Youthlinc, even if on all the same flights as the team, is also defined as a divergent itinerary. 

 

Youthlinc actively discourages divergent itineraries, the number of divergent itineraries is limited, granted on a first-come, first-serve basis. We especially discourage divergent itineraries for unaccompanied minors, even with parental approval. Mentors that wish to diverge may be declined, as Youthlinc must ensure there are enough adults to accompany the team to and from the international destination. 

 

All those requesting divergent itineraries are required to sign this additional divergent itinerary waiver. After the submission of this form, you will receive an email confirming whether or not you can diverge. Do NOT purchase airfare until you have received confirmation of divergent approval. 

 

When a participant is flying on a divergent itinerary, Youthlinc is in no way responsible and should not be contacted for any issues, changes, or problems with those flights or travel arrangements – even if Youthlinc changes the service site within the country or to a different country based on extenuating circumstances that are of importance to our organization or our teams. 

 

Additionally, Youthlinc staff is not responsible in any way for assisting with divergent activities. By signing this waiver you agree that you are responsible for buying ALL your flights and ensuring flight details are correct (both to and from your international destination). Upon request, we may offer participants the contact information for the travel agents we use to book team international service travel.  

 

Youthlinc will not be involved in negotiating costs, organizing itineraries, receiving or paying funds or any other activity associated with tourist or any outside travel before or after our international service experiences. The extra cost of a divergent itinerary for tourist or any other purpose, as well as any cost associated with purpose unrelated to service travel, is not a tax deductible expense. The full cost for divergent flights must be paid directly to the travel agent or airline, not to Youthlinc. Usually that cost must be paid at the time of booking. 

 

Many Youthlinc participants fundraise for their international trip, a large portion of which is the flight cost. When a participant decides to diverge, they pay the travel agency or airline directly for their flight, which reduces their overall balance due to Youthlinc. Consequently, divergent participants are not able to fundraise through Youthlinc for their flight. Legally, Youthlinc cannot refund money that is donated to a participant to cover the flight costs. 

Please read our Refund Policy for more information (section J). Check with your tax advisor because the out of pocket cost of airfare for the service trip may still be tax deductible for the participant. 

 

NB: Youthlinc issues refunds for eligible trip overpayments on June 1 of each Service Year. This policy applies to those who choose to diverge as well.