Volunteer Safety and Security Focus of Hearing
Legislation is likely following a May 11th congressional hearing on physical and sexual crimes against Peace Corps volunteers. The hearing generated worldwide attention, including a front page story in the New York Times.
 Witnesses included three RPCVs who were sexually assaulted during their service, and the mother of murdered Benin Peace Corps volunteer Kate Puzey. Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams and Inspector General Kathy Buller also appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Please refer to the following resources to be connected and informed:
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Win $1,000, $5,000, $25,000 with NPCA Contests and Awards
"When I was in the Peace Corps, I had this great idea...."
What was your big idea? Now is your chance to share it with the Peace Corps community -- and through the National Peace Corps Association's Global Community Project Competition or NPCA/SEVEN Fund Enterprise Solutions to Poverty Essay Contest you could win cash, recognition in front of world leaders, get published in WorldView magazine, and win a free ticket to the 50th Anniversary Gala to be held this September.
 As part of NPCA's commitment to the "bringing the world home" goal of the Peace Corps, we also honor exemplary RPCVs with ideas that have or will make a significant impact on the world. Check out our new video on the Sargent Shriver Award for Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award. Be inspired and nominate an RPCV today!
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RPCV Chocolate, Coffee Companies Support 50th Anniversary
Chocolate. Coffee. Say no more.
Two fair trade companies with roots in the Peace Corps -- Madécasse Chocolate, founded by Madagascar RPCVs Tim McCollum and Brett Beach, and Hippie Coffee Company, founded by Costa Rica RPCV David Lockshin -- are making donations to support NPCA's 50th anniversary activities through sales of their products.
We've had the privilege of tasting both the coffee and the chocolate and can assure you, they're delicious! So do good by eating and drinking well! Madécasse chocolate is made "bean to bar" in Madagascar, creating four times the impact of fair trade cocoa alone. (Read our blog post about Madécasse here.) Hippie Coffee is produced by a 750 family co-operative in the Costa Rican Tarrazu region
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Just Four Months Left: Gala Tickets Now Available for Purchase
September will be here sooner than you think. Make your plans to be in Washington, D.C. this September 21-25 for the culminating events of the Peace Corps' 50th anniversary year. Click here to see a full list of registrants-to-date plus event details.
>>Tickets for the Promise of the Peace Corps Gala are now available for purchase online.
For questions about the September events please contact Khalisa Jacobs.
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50th Anniversary Around the World Expos Coming to Sacramento, San Diego
Global education workshops. Peace Corps recruiter chats. Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Career panels. A chance to meet RPCVs from around the world and learn about their experiences. You'll find all that and more at the 50th Anniversary Around the World Regional Expos taking place across the U.S. this spring and early summer. You can read about the recent Raleigh Expo here.
Next month an Expo is coming to Sacramento, California (June 4) and San Diego, California (June 11).
Each Expo is a unique collaboration between NPCA, the regional Peace Corps recruiting office and the local RPCV member group. We hope to see you at an Expo!
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Spanish-Speaking RPCVs Assist Expatriate Peruvian Voting
Serving in the Peace Corps can sometimes mean staying connected to your host country in unusual ways. For example, helping out with an election.
Last month 15 RPCVs assisted the Peruvian Consulate in carrying out their April 10th election. About 15,000 Peruvian nationals traveled from as far away as Kentucky, West Virginia, and Delaware to cast their ballots at Washington D.C.'s regional polling place in nearby West Falls Church, Va. A run-off is slated for June and the Consulate is now asking for additional help from Spanish-speaking RPCVs....
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Serve Again as an Encore Volunteer
Encore Service Corps International - managed this year by NPCA through a joint project - connects RPCVs and others with significant skills to three- to six-month volunteer opportunities in other countries. These short term projects pair you with NGOs and offer you a chance to apply your skills to build the capacity of local institutions.
Do you have skills in information services, information and communications technology, human resources or nursing education? If so, we have the positions for you now! Learn more about the Encore program and how you can apply to be an Encore volunteer.
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Timeline Captures Key Documents, Touchstones of the Peace Corps
Springing from the idea that better knowledge about the Peace Corps and its history will help make better Volunteers, Sanna Thomas (Tanzania 64-66), provided generous support to compile and make accessible to future Volunteers some of the "foundational documents and seminal moments" related to Peace Corps' history.
Thanks to her generosity, and as part of our 50th anniversary celebration, we have recently built an interactive timeline. While by no means exhaustive, we hope you'll take few moments to read those early calls to service, just as relevant today as there were 50 years ago.
To view the timeline, scroll down to just below the Community section of our 50th Anniversary Page.
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NPCA Members - It's Time to Vote!
One of the benefits of membership in NPCA is a voice in the governing of the organization through regional representation on the NPCA Board of Directors. We invite you to vote in this year's election. Up for election for three-year terms this year:
- U.S. Geographic - West: Darryl N. Johnson
- U.S. Geographic - Southern Tier: Deborah Burr and Barbara Junge
- Country of Service - Asia and the Pacific: Stephen Groff and Paul Murphy
All eligible members (current NPCA members living in the U.S. geographic region or who served in the country of service region) were sent an election flyer by mail and/or email with instructions on how to vote. Online voting opened May 10 and continues through June 10. Read more about each region and the candidates and cast your ballot here.
Want to vote and don't see your ballot when you log in? It may be time to renew your membership. Use that same login to check your membership status and renew.
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You still want to make a difference.
Be a member to continue serving, connect with others, and support the legacy of the Peace Corps.
JOIN TODAY!
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USE THIS BUTTON TO FORWARD TO A FRIEND!
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NEW PRODUCTS IN OUR ONLINE STORE!
Our new online store offers a wide selection of Peace Corps and NPCA logo merchandise -- from t-shirts and coffee mugs, to pins and license place frames. And yes, the much requested Peace Corps patch! Wearing logo merchandise is a great way to spark conversations about Peace Corps! Your purchase supports the efforts of the National Peace Corps Association.
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LOOKING FOR A JOB?
VIsit the National Peace Corps Association JOB CENTER to see listings by employers who want candidates who have lived overseas, speak multiple languages, are entrepreneurial leaders, and have a passion for all types of development work.
>> VISIT THE NPCA JOB CENTER TODAY
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FREE UPCOMING RPCV CAREER EVENT!
June 10, 2011
Regional Career Event:
Dallas, Texas
Attend Returned Volunteer Services' first-ever Career Event in Dallas! At this FREE day-long career event, you will practice telling your professional Peace Corps story to a variety of audiences, connect with other returned Volunteers, and explore ways to get involved in Peace Corps activities with the Dallas Regional Recruitment Office. You'll also chat with local employers in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors at the afternoon career fair
First-year RPCVs with noncompetitive eligibility are especially encouraged to attend. Click here to register online! (Pre-registration closes at midnight EST on Tuesday, June 7, 2011). Click here for a full listing of Office of Returned Volunteer Service events for RPCVs.
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OFFICIAL 50th ANNIVERSARY
CALENDAR
Want to find an event near you for the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps? Need people to attend your event? Visit the NPCA / Peace Corps Calendar of Events to keep track of all of the exciting, meaningful, fun celebrations happening around the world during the Peace Corps 50th Anniversary year. You can find the site here: http://events.peacecorps50.org/ Don't forget to add your own events!
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SHARE YOUR PEACE CORPS 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. |
with NPCA
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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, visit RPCVMentoring.org.
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GROUPS FOR YOU
Couchsurfing / Hospitality. In Memoriam. Injured While Serving. Job Searchers of the World Unite. These are just some of the hundreds of groups you'll find on NPCA's Online Community. Groups made by the Peace Corps Community, for the Peace Corps Community.
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