Take Our Better, Bolder Peace Corps Survey
Perhaps you are among the nearly 3,400 members of the Peace Corps community who have already taken part in the better, bolder Peace Corps survey that is now circulating. If so, thank you (and a special thank you to the new subscribers of the NPCA e-News).
However if you have not, please do so over the weekend! Plan on blocking off up to 20 minutes to take the survey because we're asking you to make some tough choices. Don't delay
too long, as the deadline for participating is Thursday, October 22nd.
The results of the survey will be published in the winter edition of WorldView
magazine and shared with key decision makers who similarly face tough
choices on how to use finite resources to advance a bigger, better and
bolder Peace Corps.
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Round Three Winners Announced
At
noon today, Round Three of the Africa Rural Connect contest
came to a close, and three winners were awarded cash prizes to
implement their plans for the development of rural Africa.
Congratulations
to our winners! All three will be entered into the
Grand Prize Pool in November, when our judges will select one project
to receive $20,000 in funding.
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50th Anniversary Year is Fast Approaching
The
Peace Corps's 50th anniversary kicks off ONE YEAR from yesterday, the
anniversary of John. F. Kennedy's speech at the University of Michigan where he
first articulated the vision for a Peace Corps. (Listen to the speech here.)
As
you can imagine, a lot of planning for this significant milestone has
taken place in the past four years...and much remains. You can find
information and resources concerning the 50th anniversary on National
Peace Corps Association's regularly updated 50th Anniversary page.
Access the latest outline and brief description of events planned for
the anniversary year. Learn how to donate materials to the Peace Corps
Collection at Kennedy Library or to the Peace Corps's Digital Library.
And much more.
The most recent addition to the page is a letter from the NPCA Board Chair, Jan Guifarro, providing an important update on NPCA's activities around the 50th, including plans for a commemorative space near the National Mall.
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Washington DC
Rally to Highlight International Day of Climate Action
Oregon
RPCV Blake Howell Schmidt (Mozambique 01-03) said it as well as anyone
when he recently posted this message to several groups on Connected Peace Corps: "Please join or create 350.org
actions wherever you are on October 24th. This is part of a global
push to force world leaders to attend the Climate Conference in
Copenhagen in December and set us on a course for a healthy and
sustainable future."
One
of the big events has a big RPCV connection. Mike Tidwell's (Zaire
85-87) Chesapeake Climate Action Network is taking a lead role in
organizing a rally and march in Washington DC. If you want to participate in an RPCV contingent for the DC march, contact us at advocacy@peacecorpsconnect.org.
Follow this link to see if there is a planned activity near you. And, don't forget to keep sending us your RPCV climate testimonies!
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NPCA Board Transitions
NPCA is pleased to welcome Susan Solomon (Sierra Leone 65-67) to its Board of Directors. She will fill the remainder of the board term for Aaron Williams, who resigned following his confirmation as the Director of the Peace Corps. We'd also like to thank Chuck Ludlam for his service to NPCA. He resigned on October 5, 2009 to focus on his campaign to reform Peace Corps.
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Thank You Rajeev
After nearly two years, Rajeev Goyal (Nepal 01-03) is stepping down as coordinator for NPCA's MorePeaceCorps Campaign. NPCA Advocacy Coordinator Jonathan Pearson will serve on an interim basis as the MorePeaceCorps Campaign Coordinator.
Rajeev has been a tireless and passionate advocate for
expanding and strengthening Peace Corps, and we thank him for his work
on behalf of our community.
Meanwhile, as we continue to push for more resources, the campaign also enters a new phase
in which we are focusing on developing a few implementable ideas that
would lead to a better and bolder Peace Corps. Activities include the
better, bolder Peace Corps survey, the continuing effort to build support for the Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act
and exploring opportunities in the coming year with a broad coalition
advocating for increased opportunities for Peace Corps and other forms
of international service. |
New Mexico RPCVs Camp Out and Clean Up
Good food, good company, a good deed. That's what a recent camp out hosted by the New Mexico Peace Corps Association was all about.
The volunteers camped, hiked and hauled trash from the Santa Fe National Forest. Organizer John Turnbull says, "It was an impressive pile of trash we carried out of there.
And while doing it, it provided us a hike through some really marvelous canyon
scenery..."
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Sign Up for Global Connections
You can still sign up for Global Connections, NPCA's new global education parternship with The Globalist.
The goal of Global Connections is to improve the "global literacy" of U.S. high school students and prepare them for the global services economy of the 21st century.
To view a sample week of Global Connections, click here (note: not all links are available for viewing on the sample page).
Participation in this program includes a free subscription to Global Connections, as well as a free subscription to the NPCA's Global TeachNet newsletter, which is an incredible value worth over $500!
To sign up
or for more information about Global Connections, please contact NPCA at teachnet@peacecorpsconnect.org.
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SEND TO A FRIEND
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SUBSCRIBE TO OUR e-NEWSLETTERS
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ARE YOU CONNECTED?
With the move to a new website, we also moved to a new database. Please take a minute to log in, review and update your contact information and communication preferences, make a donation, and/or join or renew your membership. It's all in one place. Thank you for keeping us updated!
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SHOW YOUR
PEACE CORPS
PRIDE
Our online store offers
a wide selection of Peace Corps and NPCA logo merchandise--from
t-shirts and coffee mugs, to pins and license plate frames. Wearing logo merchandise is a great way to spark conversations about Peace Corps!
Your purchase supports the efforts of the
National Peace Corps Association in its mission to connect,
inform and engage Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, serving Volunteers, current and former Peace Corps
staff and all who support the values of Peace Corps.
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For up the latest Peace Corps Community News
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FOLLOW NPCA ON TWITTER
Yes, we are now Twittering! Follow us at: www.twitter.com/pcorpsconnect.
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 ... with NPCA
Are you a person with Peace Corps experience who uses the professional online
networking community LinkedIn? Well we have
created an NPCA group on LinkedIn...and you're invited.
Join NPCA's LinkedIn group
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WHAT IS EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT?
Curious about what's on the mind of the Peace Corps Community?
Wonder no more. Check out Connected Peace Corps...the social networking area on our new website.
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HELP CHOOSE 2010 ADVOCACY PRIORITIES
As we begin the final quarter of 2009, the NPCA's advocacy program is beginning to consider what issues will be our priority activities during the 2010 calendar year.
While we provide some level of engagement and opportunities for action on numerous issues in a given year, we attempt to prioritize two or three issues for more focused and intensified activity throughout the year. At least one of those issues is directly related to the Peace Corps. We also consider other global issues that impact the countries and communities where we served.
Click here to learn more.
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Win $50,000 for your cause - Join America's Giving Challenge!
America's Giving Challenge
is in full swing. In just a few days, $200,000 has been raised for over
4,000 causes!
The contest is simple: the cause that gets the most people
to give $10 or more wins. Causes can win daily awards of up to $1,000 for
getting the most donations in a single day, and overall awards up to $50,000
for getting the most donations over the entire challenge, which ends
November 6th.
Go to
www.causes.com
to see the leading causes in the Challenge. From here,
you can browse all competing causes or start a new cause. Or you can go
directly to the
list of your causes
and pick one to help.
The Challenge, which was organized by Causes, the Case Foundation, and
PARADE Publications, was created to empower individuals to join together and
make a difference for the issues and organizations they care about most.
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