Dear Peace Corps Community Members,
2009 was a remarkable year for NPCA and the Peace Corps Community.
Memorable bookends include an historic role marching in the inaugural parade and helping secure the highest appropriation in the history of the Peace Corps. The $400 million appropriation was $60 million more than last year, and nearly $30 million more than the President requested. This success directly results from the work of thousands in the community who mobilized to secure congressional support....
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 It's Official: President Approves $400 million for Peace Corps
President Obama this week took final action and signed H.R. 3288, a massive Fiscal Year 2010 spending bill that includes funding for State/Foreign Operations. Contained in the State/Foreign Operations bill is $400 million for the Peace Corps -- the highest single-year funding increase in the history of the agency.
"This represents a tremendous investment for a bigger, better and bolder Peace Corps," said NPCA President Kevin Quigley. "Our congratulations to the thousands of members of the Peace Corps community who took action over the past year. You really made a huge difference."
While the President wrapped up work on the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, his administration is already busy preparing its budget proposal to Congress for next year. Follow this link (.pdf format) to read a letter signed by 64 member groups of the NPCA, urging the President to significantly fund Peace Corps in his Fiscal Year 2011 request.
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National Peace Corps Association Reaches Out to Africa
NPCA Staffer Molly Mattessich has just arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, where she will present the $20,000 Grand Prize to Jacky Foo, whose idea won NPCA's first Africa Rural Connect contest. Today, Molly visited Peace Corps headquarters in Nairobi and met with the Country Director, PCVs and staff to discuss this dynamic online community and how current Peace Corps volunteers can become more involved in it. She also met with NPCA's Group Leaders Coordinator, Ben Bellows, who is working in Kenya.
You can read more about the Africa Rural Connect contest on the ARC Updates Page.
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RPCVs Blogging from Copenhagen
As world leaders gather in Copenhagn to seek agreement on a global climate change treaty, many activists in attendence have Peace Corps in their background.
The photo above comes from well-known RPCV writer turned climate activist Mike Tidwell (Democratic Republic of Congo 85-87) who tells in his guest blog how these candles on a Copenhagen street connected him back to his Peace Corps country of service.
Mike's not the only RPCV blogging from the climate summit. Jacqui Patterson (Jamaica 91-94) is there representing the NAACP and its Climate Justice Initiative.
There's also Paul Thompson (Malaysia 70-73) representing his hometown of Edina, Minn. as a delegate to the ICLEI local governments convention that is being held at the same time. You can follow Paul's experiences via his blog.
As the days at the world climate summit shrink to hours, one of the key points being debated is assistance to the world's most impoverished nations, many of which have contributed the least but are most threatened by negative impacts from climate change. Read more on the talks. This was one of the key points made in a recent ad (.pdf format) NPCA joined onto with many of the nation's leading environmental and development organizations.
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Give the Gift of Peace Corps for the Holiday Season
Is there a hard-to-shop-for person on your holiday list? Why not give the gift of Peace Corps?
- Our online store offers a wide selection of Peace Corps and NPCA logo merchandise--Sigg bottles, embroidered shirts, t-shirts, coffee mugs and more. Wearing logo merchandise is a great way to spark conversations about Peace Corps!
- NPCA Membership includes a subscription to WorldView magazine and supports the efforts of the National Peace Corps Association in its mission to connect, inform and engage the Peace Corps community.
Combine them for a memorable, thoughtful gift!
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Celebrations in the Peace Corps Community
Last week NPCA collaborated with the Meridian International Center to organize an event honoring Peace Corps, and featuring an address by new Director Aaron Williams.
In his remarks, Williams said being the director of Peace Corps is his "dream job" and described Peace Corps as having "wind in its sails." He also laid out his three goals for the agency: to grow with quality, innovate ways to make Peace Corps more effective and to develop a more robust set of Third Goal activities.
Event attendees included 14 ambassadors from Peace Corps countries, numerous U.S. ambassadors to Peace Corps countries, Sen. Paul Kirk (D-MA), RPCV Senegal Rep. Steve Driehaus (OH-1) and RPCV Colombia Rep. Sam Farr (CA-17).
And speaking of Rep. Farr, a highlight of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, DC holiday party was the presentation of the group's first ever "Peace Corps Champion" award to Rep. Farr.
Over 300 people attended this exciting social event.
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RPCV Helps Create Dedicated Fund for Microfinance Investments in Peace Corps Countries
As we noted in the Summer issue of WorldView magazine, microcredit/microfinance is a "hot" field of interest for many returned Peace Corps Volunteers. Among them, Jason Hahn (Niger 99-01), who recently spent time as a marketing intern at MicroPlace and worked with the MicroPlace team to create an "NPCA Investment" on MicroPlace.
Hahn writes: As a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, I was struck by the way a little bit of money went such a long way in changing the lives of the people who lived in my village, Senago Kwara.... I didn't know at the time that what we were doing was called
microfinance. In the intervening 9 years I learned more about
microfinance, and when I started my MBA at the University of Washington
my thoughts returned to these women and how I could get involved in
empowering them.....
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RPCV MENTORING
Sometimes the hardest thing about Peace Corps is adjusting to life back home. It can feel like being a fish out of water.
That's why the NPCA, in conjunction with the Peace Corps, created this unique program to help returning Volunteers link up with RPCV mentors.
For more information or to apply for the program, click here.
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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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