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October 2011, Vol. 7 No. 10                                                                                           www.PeaceCorpsConnect.org
Peace Corps Community Gathers To Mark, Celebrate 50th Anniversary Milestone
 
50th group
Thousands of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers came together in Washington, D.C. last month to reconnect, celebrate and make their voices heard on the historic 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps.

Between September 22-25 over 200 Peace Corps-related events of every description took place. Embassy receptions, backyard brunches, dance parties, film screenings, briefings, exhibits and more. In the coming months we'll be featuring stories about many of these on our blog. In the meantime, share your photos in our special September 50th events Flickr group and visit our expanding 50th Anniversary Landmark Events page.
 
NPCA Gala
Peace Corps 50th Celebrated In Style At The Promise Of The Peace Corps Gala
   
On the evening of September 24 over 800 people streamed into the dramatically decorated atrium of the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the Peace Corps -- in style!

Chris Matthews (Swaziland 68-70) carried out the master of ceremony duties with brio. Timothy Shriver (CEO Special Olympics) spoke movingly of how pleased his father would have been to see the Sargent Shriver Distinguished Humanitarian Award bestowed on the 2011 recipient, social entrepreneur Sam Goldman (Benin 01-05). Several other awards were also presented including the Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award, the NPCA / Seven Fund Essay Contest, and the Global Community Project Prize....
 
Survey Results Are In: Peace Corps' Impact Over 50 Years

On September 21 -- kicking off a week of 50th anniversary events -- the National Peace Corps Association announced the results of a landmark survey (carried out earlier this year) of more than 11,000 former Peace Corps Volunteers --- nearly one in every 20 people who have ever served in the program.

In A Call to Peace: Perspectives of Volunteers on the Peace Corps at 50 respondents answered questions such as how Peace Corps changed the direction of their life, what motivated them to join, and whether or not Peace Corps should expand. It's a must-read for anyone who is interested in the Peace Corps.  Watch the video below, then visit the NPCA website to download the report.
A Call To Peace: Perspectives of Volunteers on the Peace Corps at 50
A Call To Peace: Perspectives of Volunteers on the Peace Corps at 50
Global Community Project
RPCVs Overwhelmingly Support Global Community Projects
 
An exciting element of September's 50th anniversary celebrations was the Global Community Project Competition, part of the National Peace Corps Association's Conversations: The Future of the Peace Corps program hosted by Bill Moyers on Saturday, September 24, 2011. NPCA created the Global Community Project Fund to support innovative and scalable projects addressing today's pressing challenges led by members of the Peace Corps community.

Some 1,500 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) gathered in the National Theater to listen to 15-minute multimedia presentations by the two RPCV project finalists: Andrew Dykens (Mauritania 94-97) for the PeaceCare / Kedougou, Senegal partnership and Thomas Robertson (Nepal 92-96) for Friends of Nepal and Janasewa Samaj Nepal's Jana Sewa Community Hospital and Smokeless Stove/Kitchen Garden Project. The audience was asked to choose the winning project proposal, the one which best incorporated the principles of the Peace Corps....
 
ArlingtonAmphitheater
RPCV/W: Volunteers Make it Happen!
 
The Sunday, September 25 Arlington National Cemetery presentation and Walk of Flags was inspiring and energizing.  And it couldn't have happened without the hard work and commitment of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, DC (RPCV/W). We asked Kristina Owens, RPCV/W Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Liaison to provide some background on how the 50th Anniversary events at Arlington came together. 
 
Service Day India 58
Celebrating the 50th: A Day of Service with India Group 58

The 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps was about more than celebrating the accomplishments of the past. It was also about keeping the values of service and understanding front and center.

To help do this, Friday September 23rd was set aside as a Day of Service. That day, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) streamed into the NPCA offices to pick up their t-shirt and a coupon for a scoop of ice cream courtesy of Ben and Jerry's before heading to their sites. A group of India 28 Volunteers spent the morning at Food and Friends, a DC-based food bank....
 
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Senate Hearing Explores Peace Corps' Next 50 Years
 
In the aftermath of the largest RPCV advocacy day on Capitol Hill in recent memory (50 years to the day of the passage of the Peace Corps Act), there has been no rest for NPCA's advocacy program. 

In the past two weeks House and Senate committees have held hearings on the proposed Peace Corps Commemorative. And on October 6 the Senate Peace Corps Subcommittee held a hearing to explore the next fifty years of the Peace Corps.

NPCA President Kevin Quigley submitted into the hearing record several dozen letters written by participants in the 50th Anniversary Advocacy Day on why the Peace Corps matters and how it benefits our nation. He also shared findings from the recently released report, A Call to Peace: Perspectives of Volunteers on the Peace Corps at 50. Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams, Sens. Chris Dodd and Harris Wofford, RPCV Liz Odongo and Peace Corps Inspector General Kathy Buller also testified. ... 
 
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Gallaudet Exhibit To Shine Spotlight On Deaf Peace Corps Volunteer Experience
 
When a member of Gallaudet University's Museum Committee proposed an exhibit on Deaf Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) it was envisioned as a small, one-wall celebration to show that Deaf people were in the Peace Corps too. But it turned out to be much more....

This exhibition and associated events, which will open on October 25 in Washington, D.C., will be the first-ever organized gathering of Deaf and hard of hearing RPCVs to take place on a large scale.
 
IN THIS ISSUE
RPCVs Reunite, Celebrate the 50 Anniversary

The Promise of the Peace Corps Gala

Survey Results Are In: A Call to Peace Report

Celebrating the 50th: Day of Service

Senate Hearing Explores Peace Corps' Next Fifty Years

Gallaudet Exhibit on Deaf Peace Corps Volunteer Experience

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 RPCV patch  

We're proud to be celebrating the Peace Corps' 50th birthday!   

 

Our 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.

 

Save 20% off your order in the month of September by entering promo code NPCA50TH during checkout. Thanks for your support!

 

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MAD�CASSE CHOCOLATE

 

Madecasse chocolate  Mad�casse makes world-class, award-winning "bean-to-bar" chocolate in Madagascar -- where the RPCV company founders Tim McCollum and Brett Beach served. Each bar produces more than four times the economic impact of fair trade alone.  

 

Try one of their extraordinary products to benefit the NPCA's 50th Anniversary activities. Write "NPCA20" in the comment box at check out from now until September 19th and NPCA will receive 20% of the proceeds of your purchase. Proceeds will benefit the 50th Anniversary activities.  

 

Purchase Mad�casse Chocolate  

 

THE HIPPIE COFFEE COMPANY

Hippie Coffee Company 

  

David Lockshin (RPCV Costa Rica 1981-84) and the Hippie Coffee Company bring you a 50th Anniversary, Costa Rican commemorative coffee. The medium full bodied blend is produced from a 750 family COOP in the Costa Rican Tarrazu region. They produce such high quality coffee that the prices they receive are much greater than the world coffee commodity market price. 20% of the proceeds from the sale of the coffee will benefit the National Peace Corps Association's 50th Anniversary activities.

 

Purchase Hippie Coffee  

 

50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE TEA

 

serendipitea 

As a unique gift to share with your friends and relatives during the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps, the NPCA is collaborating with SerendipiTea to create these special teas, Peace and Harmony. These two Commemorative tea blends are each comprised of five ingredients that hail from five countries in which Peace Corps Volunteers have served over the past 50 years. The blends celebrate the unified achievements of volunteers and the organization itself.

 

Purchase SerendipiTea Commemorative Tea

 

SEAVEES AND J.CREW HONOR THE PEACE CORPS

09/61 Volunteer Plimsoll
The 09/61 Volunteer Plimsoll was inspired by the September 1961 passage of the Peace Corps Act. SeaVees celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps by recreating a style from our early sixties origin. Through an exclusive partnership with the National Peace Corps Association, SeaVees will make a donation for each pair sold to a planned Peace Corps commemorative in Washington, D.C. J.Crew has graciously agreed to match the donation amount. This new release can only be found at J.Crew and SeaVees. SeaVees is proud to partner with the NPCA and support the ideals of the Peace Corps.


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