A passport opens the door. Knowing what is on the other side of it, and meeting someone who has already walked through, is what makes a young person actually go.
The heart of what we do. We cover the full cost of a first U.S. passport and walk every young person through the process from eligibility to the appointment window, so that the document arrives in their name and nobody had to do it alone.
An eight-week cohort that runs while the passport is being processed. By the time the document arrives in week six, the young person holding it knows what a visa is, how people actually afford to go, what studying abroad from a community college looks like, and where they want to be. In week eight, they cross a border.
| Week | Session |
|---|---|
| One | Wheels UpEverything they have heard about travel, said out loud and taken apart. Then: where would you go if nothing stopped you? |
| Two | The PaperworkPassport, visa, entry stamp. What the document does at a border, and what it does not do. |
| Three | The Money SessionHow people actually pay for this. Scholarships, work exchange, off-season, hostels. Everyone builds a real budget for a real place. |
| Four | School AbroadStudy abroad from community college and CSU, including the part where it exists. A working session on the Gilman Scholarship. |
| Five | Work AbroadAu pair, teaching English, working holiday visas, Peace Corps, international internships. Led by someone who has done one of them. |
| Six | Out ThereSafety, identity, and reality — honestly. Passports usually arrive around here. |
| Seven | Being a GuestCulture shock, coming home, language basics, and the difference between a visitor and a tourist. |
| Eight | First DepartureThey use it. A day trip across the border, with real customs, a real stamp, and a real conversation on the other side. |
A curriculum can tell a young person that travel is possible. Only a person can prove it. Stamps is our network of people who have studied, worked, served, or lived abroad — recruited deliberately from the same neighborhoods and starting points as the young people they meet.
A monthly open session. One guest, ninety minutes, food, and any question you want to ask. No cohort, no application, no commitment — just a room where somebody who has been there answers honestly. Come once or come every month.
We do not take applications directly from families. Young people come to us through the schools, agencies, and community programs they are already part of — because the conversation goes better when it begins with an adult they already trust.