Senate Committee Approves Dodd Legislation, Peace Corps Deputy Director
This week the Senate Foreign Relations Committee gave its approval to Senate Bill 1382, the Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act.
Authored by Senator Chris Dodd (Dominican Republic 66-68), the legislation calls upon the agency to conduct an assessment of 18 issues identified as key to the improvement and expansion of Peace Corps operations, and provide a strategic plan that includes one and five year goals and benchmarks to measure progress.
Among these key issues is the Peace Corps' "third goal"--the first goal of the National Peace Corps Association. The assessment would look at "the most effective and efficient methods of improving and strengthening activities relating to the Peace Corps' goal of promoting a better understanding of other peoples on the part of the people of the United States, including enhanced funding to implement, scale, and replicate such activities."
The Committee also approved the nomination of former NPCA Board Member Carrie Hessler-Radelet to become the next Deputy Director of the Peace Corps.
With these votes by the committee, both the legislation and the Hessler-Radelet nomination go to the full Senate for final approval. |
National Peace Corps Association Wins Interactive Media Award™ for Africa Rural Connect Project
We are excited to announce that Africa Rural Connect(ARC), an online project launched last summer by the National Peace Corps Association, has received this year's Interactive Media Award™(IMA) for Outstanding Achievement under the category "agriculture." This is the second highest honor bestowed by IMA.
"We are thrilled to be recognized for the planning and execution of a very creative online community," says Molly Mattessich, NPCA's Manager of Online Initiatives. "We hope this recognition will draw even more people to the site to submit their ideas and engage in a discussion on how to help rural Africa."
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VOTE: NPCA Board Election Starts Tomorrow
The 2010 election for member-elected representatives to the NPCA Board of Directors begins tomorrow, April 16.
Member-elected seats in the following four regions are scheduled for election this year: Upper Midwest; The Americas; West, Central and Southern Africa; and Asia and the Pacific.
Voting will take place primarily online between April 16 and May 16. All eligible voters (current NPCA members living in the US geographic region or who served in the country of service region) will receive an election flyer in the mail with
instructions on how to vote.
Every seat is contested, so be sure to click on the region to read the
candidate biographies! Complete details about the board elections, voting eligibility and more
can be found on the NPCA website.
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Senate Action Alert: Ask Senators to Support International Affairs Budget
As the Senate Budget Committee works on its version of the Fiscal Year 2011 budget, many international development and humanitarian assistance programs (including funds for a bigger, better, bolder Peace Corps) will likely be impacted if the Committee adopts an International Affairs Budget below the President's request of $58.5 billion. NPCA recently delivered letters to all members of the Budget Committee urging support of no less than the President's request.
Now, it's your turn! A Senate sign-on letter, with an April 16th deadline is circulating urging support for the President's International Affairs Budget. Follow the link below right now to see if your Senator(s) have signed. If not, take quick action immediately.
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Be an Advocate for Universal Basic Education April 19-25
Universal basic education is one of our 2010 advocacy priorities, and there are lots of opportunities to take action in the next week.
Interested in supporting this effort? Join our Education for All Advocates group on our Connected Peace Corps social networking site: follow this link.
You can also team up with the Global Campaign for Education during their Global Action Week (April 19-25). We encourage you to take part in their Lesson for All, which aims to raise awareness of the global education crisis and get people involved in advocating for education for all.
Also, look for an action alert on or around April 21st on our blog.
If you live in the D.C. area, there will be a Capitol Hill event during the day on April 21st to mark the introduction of the Education for All Act, featuring Congresswoman Nita Lowey, actress Jessica Alba and others. If you are interested in attending this kick-off event, please contact advocintern@peacecorpsconnect.org. Thank you for your support! |
In This Issue: It Takes a Garden to Raise a Community
Take a few acres of donated land. Add a handful of community volunteers. Provide seeds and equipment. Top off with training. The result? In Boise, Idaho, it's a fully functioning gardening
program designed for refugees who are resettled in the region, which in
turn offers fresh and organic produce to community members. "We resettle around 100 individuals per year and most of them are coming from situations of conflict around the world," says Katie Painter (Paraguay 00-02), the refugee agriculture coordinator for the Idaho
Office for Refugees....
Four times a year, NPCA members receive WorldViewmagazine, filled with stories for and about the Peace Corps community like the one above. To see what you may be missing -- and to read the rest of the story -- visit our website.
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Ten Years, $165,000!
Peace Corps Volunteers don't end their community service efforts when they end their time abroad. As we know, many Volunteers bring that spirit of service back home, and groups of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers often continue to serve their communities in various ways.
One such group is the Inland-Northwest Peace Corps Association. The
group's recent activities included volunteering with the local public
television station, KSPS Public Television/Friends of Seven, which
serves the Inland Northwest and Canada. According to longtime group
member Sue Bracken, group members (pictured here at KSPS) have answered
phones at the television station's pledge drives for the past ten years...
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Former NPCA Advocate is First Responder in Uganda
Last month, when mudslides devastated Uganda's Bududa region, Nicole Fiol was the first Peace Corps volunteer to arrive and begin providing disaster assistance.
We weren't surprised. We first met Nicole three years ago, when, as a Peace Corps applicant, she participated in our Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill and later testified at a Senate hearing on Peace Corps legislation. Nicole impressed us in many ways: her positive energy, her vibrant
personality and her ability to get results!...
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SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE
With the Peace Corps' Speakers Match program, elementary and secondary school teachers can enhance their students' learning through classroom presentations by returned Peace Corps Volunteers.
Interested classroom teachers and returned Peace Corps Volunteers can enroll in the Peace Corps' Speakers Match program by clicking here.
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SAVE THE DATE!
Save the date for the Annual General Meeting(AGM) and Group Leaders
Forum(GLF): Saturday, June 26 here in Washington, DC.
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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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ARE YOU A MEMBER?
Did you miss the opportunity to march in last year's inaugural parade because you weren't a member of NPCA?
Don't miss out on the latest breaking 50th Anniversary information, news and events.
The 50th Anniversary is almost here--make sure you're a member of NPCA.
Join here.
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FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Yes, we are now Twittering!
Follow NPCA at: www.twitter.com/pcorpsconnect.
Follow Africa Rural Connect at: www.twitter.com/ideasforafrica.
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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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