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Greetings!
Happy 2013!
Before we get too deep in preparations for our National Day of Action...
Before we get too engrossed in organizing your magnificent comments to Congress on why the Peace Corps matters...
Here's one last look back at 2012 and the many ways in which you continued to contribute to NPCA's advocacy efforts. Thank you so much!
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 Maintaining Our Capitol Hill Presence
Coming off the excitement and energy associated with the 2011 50th anniversary celebrations and activities, one uncertainty as we began 2012 was if there would be a letdown...some "Peace Corps fatigue."
Our advocates quickly put that concern to rest on March 1st. During our 8th Annual National Day of Action in Support of the Peace Corps, 75 advocates representing 23 states and the District of Columbia participated in the Capitol Hill portion of the day (check out this video). As others took action with phone calls and emails from home, one of the most exciting aspects of the day was the mix of RPCVs across the eras. Nearly one-third of our Hill advocates served in the past three years, or were in the midst of the Peace Corps application process. |
Peace Corps Advocacy on the Homefront
We extended our face-to-face advocacy beyond Washington.
Congressman Ander Crenshaw (R-FL) is a member of the important House Appropriations Committee. Back in the summer, the congressman (l) met with RPCVs David Miron (Colombia 1963-65) and Martha McManus (Solomon Islands 1975-77) to discuss Peace Corps issues.
This meeting in Jacksonville kicked off the second year of our August District Meeting initiative, where we coordinate with advocacy leaders around the country in promoting meetings with their lawmakers back in their hometowns during the traditional summer recess.
Our August 2012 meetings were slightly up from the year before. We confirmed at least 30 meetings in home districts from Maine to Illinois to California. These meetings focused on lawmakers who serve on key congressional committees. More than one-third of the meetings were with members of the Senate or House Appropriations Committee, seven of whom serve on the extremely important State/Foreign Operations Subcommittee. |
 Continuing to Press for Strong Peace Corps Funding
Once again in 2012, the end of the year came without final decisions on federal spending for the current fiscal year (Fiscal Year 2013).
Ongoing debate on federal spending and deficit reductions will be a key congressional focus in early 2013. And, there remains a chance that Peace Corps funding could see a slight increase, thanks in no small part to the efforts of the Peace Corps community.
In the House of Representatives, Sam Farr (above, Colombia 1964-66) was joined by fellow RPCV Congressmen Tom Petri (Somalia 1966-67 ), Mike Honda (El Salvador 1965-67) and John Garamendi (Ethiopia 1966-68) in circulating a letter back in March requesting $400 million for the Peace Corps for the current fiscal year. In the Senate, a letter requesting "strong funding for the Peace Corps" was circulated by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA).
Two weeks after being issued, a record number of members of Congress signed onto the Peace Corps funding letters. At the close of 2012, the House of Representatives proposed level funding of $375 million for the Peace Corps, but the Senate proposed returning funding to its previous high-water mark of $400 million. A final decision on this funding is expected during the first quarter of 2013.
At the same time, President Obama will soon be issuing his budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year 2014. NPCA reached out to RPCV member groups to sign a letter to the President requesting strong funding for the Peace Corps in his budget. A record 115 member groups signed onto the letter, which was forwarded to the administration in December. |
Non-Competitive Eligibility
Funding levels for the Peace Corps for the current fiscal year is not the only thing Congress will deal with early in 2013 when it completes work on appropriations bills.
In 2012, two appropriations bills contained language designed to consider improvements to the non-competitive eligibility status for federal employment for Peace Corps Volunteers completing their service.
One provision in the House of Representatives encourages improved outreach to various federal agencies to understand, recognize and support the non-competitive status of returning volunteers.
Meanwhile, Senate appropriations language asks the Peace Corps to report on extending the period of non-competitive eligibility for volunteers beyond the one year standard.
Follow this link to read more, and watch for more developments in 2013.
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 More Progress with Peace Corps Commemorative
The closing days of 2012 saw more significant progress with legislation that would authorize space near the National Mall to mark the lasting, historic significance of the founding of the Peace Corps in 1961 and the ideals represented by Peace Corps service.
In the final weeks of the year, targeted outreach around the country and more than twenty key meetings were held. Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation Board Members (above) Roger Lewis (Tunisia 1964-66) and Bonnie Gottlieb (Cote D'Ivoire 1972-74) played a critical role during the Capitol Hill meetings, assisted further by experienced advocate Mike Hall (Thailand 1967-69).
Exciting news came in the closing days of the 112th Congress when the United States Senate gave unanimous approval to the commemorative legislation. Unfortunately, final passage did not occur in the House of Representatives.
Follow this link to read more about the recent developments and thank key lawmakers who helped advance the commemorative.
Stay tuned for updates in 2013. |
 Supporting Ill and Injured RPCVs
In September 2012 our featured advocate was Nancy Tongue, an RPCV from Chile who enjoyed her Peace Corps experience but also struggled from illness stemming from her service more than three decades ago.
Nancy is not alone. Many face struggles receiving recognition and support to recover from their injuries and illness.
In 2012, Nancy and a core group of other RPCVs formed the group Health Justice for Peace Corps Volunteers, to bring more attention to these concerns. NPCA provided some guidance to the group, and reported on some of their efforts. Chief among them was a survey of the Peace Corps community to further assess the scope and depth of problems associated with supporting injured and ill RPCVs. By the end of 2012, more than 7,500 members of the community had responded, and the results of the survey were being analyzed.
Peace Corps Acting Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet responded to the concerns, connecting with group members and taking a series of steps to assess and address key concerns. 2012 also ended with a report by the Government Accountability Office, calling upon the Peace Corps and the Department of Labor to better monitor the access to and quality of Federal Employment Compensation Act (FECA) benefits provided to RPCVs.
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 Getting Local With NPCA Advocates
We took our advocacy travels to meet with you right down to the very end of 2012. A December 27th luncheon gathering (right) with members of the Connecticut RPCVs closed out advocacy visits for the year.
Other trips provided different opportunities. Trips to Third Goal Expos in Nashville and Providence gave us the chance to meet informally with members of the Peace Corps community in two different sections in the country. Our annual gathering in Minneapolis drew people from across the nation and offered up a few advocacy specific get-togethers. A northeast swing in August included stops in Boston, St. Johnsbury Vermont and Brunswick Maine.
By the end of the year, our travels took us to nine cities in eight states, where we were able to personally connect and converse with well over 200 members of the Peace Corps community. |
Volunteer Advocacy Coordinators
NPCA's advocacy program continues to explore ways to grow and strengthen its reach.
One significant step in 2012 was outreach to identify some great, energetic advocates willing to take on the role of state or regional advocacy coordinator. By year's end we identified 18 people, either serving in that capacity within their RPCV member groups or recruited by the NPCA.
In the first year, these individuals were instrumental in our accomplishments. Many assisted during our August district meetings initiatives. Several helped organize advocacy workshops in their area. Several are already at work helping us prepare for the 2013 National Day of Action.
We featured two of our advocacy coordinators in 2012, Barbara Kelly of New Jersey and Vanessa Porter of Boston.
In 2013, we hope to grow our number of coordinators. Those willing to help should contact NPCA Advocacy Director Jonathan Pearson. |
 Advocacy Workshops
In 2012 we also worked to strengthen our offering of advocacy training workshops.
A June advocacy workshop in Minneapolis was a well attended and popular activity at our 2012 Annual Gathering.
Other workshops were held during the year in Boston Massachusetts and Princeton and Morristown New Jersey.
We hope to conduct more workshops in 2013. Contact us at advocacy@peacecorpsconnect.org if you are interested in hosting or coordinating an advocacy workshop in your community. |
 Global Issues Advocacy
NPCA advocacy in 2011 was devoted almost entirely to Peace Corps issues to help mark the 50th anniversary year. However, in 2012 we began to return to offering members of our community information and action opportunities highlighting other issues of global concern.
Cynthia Hellman (above, Mali 1999-01) was among the RPCV activists - and their causes - we featured and promoted in 2012. In October, we featured Cynthia's work with Oxfam America as part of our efforts to bring attention to World Food Day. Earlier in the year, NPCA joined other leading NGO's in urging congressional support to sustain strong support for international food assistance during deliberations on the Farm Bill.
While support for strong Peace Corps funding is an annual activity of the NPCA and its advocates, so is support for the entire International Affairs Budget which provides critical resources for dozens of global assistance initiatives, including the Peace Corps. 2012 was no different. Urging support for strong international affairs funding was incorporated into our background materials and talking points during our August district meetings initiative. We also joined in collaborative efforts, such as a September letter to Congress urging support for the international affairs budget.
Other issues featured during 2012 included climate change, global poverty and international elections monitoring.
Contact us with your thoughts and suggestions on issues and activists to feature in 2013.
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 Find the 250K
Did you attend the Smithsonian Folklife Festival during the summer of 2011 in Washington DC? Did you fill out one of the message cards that were part of the Peace Corps 50th Anniversary exhibit?
If you did, you were one of more than 4,000 RPCVs, former staff, family or friends of the Peace Corps who filled out a card. In 2012, NPCA interns and volunteers reviewed each of those cards, recording pertinent information for future outreach and connection.
This effort was one of the first steps taken in NPCA's Find the 250K Campaign. A multi-year project, we hope to connect with every RPCV and former staff. Several thousand additional people signed up through our website, and we've been busy reviewing that information as well.
It's a huge task, but at the end of 2012 we were on target to meet our first year goal of adding an additional 10,000 names to the "found" list.
Keep spreading the word and look for more Find the 250K updates in 2013.
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 Our Interconnected Peace Corps World
It is your voice as Returned Peace Corps Volunteers that continue to serve as the best testament to the importance and significance of the Peace Corps. That's why we continue to extend our various media vehicles to amplify your voice.
We continue to produce videos featuring members of our community providing insight into why Peace Corps is important to our nation. We love to feature the amazing stories of ongoing service and accomplishment, and share them with roughly 25,000 friends on Facebook and Twitter. Meanwhile, our dedicated social network for the Peace Corps community, Connected Peace Corps, provides a great location for nearly 28,000 individuals to come together around issues, to share ideas and learn about upcoming events.
We also continue to average one advocacy blog post each week, providing regular news, action updates and features of some of our most inspiring NPCA advocates.
One new addition in 2012 was In Memoriam, a dedicated page to remember and recognize the contributions community members who passed away. Along with monthly blog posts further recognizing members of our community, we provided additional tribute to some of the key leaders we lost in 2012, including former Peace Corps Directors Kevin O'Donnell and Jack Vaughn, and Ambassador Chris Stevens.
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 Thank You Interns!
They conduct research for background materials. They compile and enter member data. They assist with scheduling congressional meetings. They help write blog posts and installments in our monthly advocacy updates. They edit and post videos.
In other words, our NPCA advocacy interns do a little bit of everything, and their work (along with a number of extremely dedicated volunteers) makes all the difference in our ability to provide an effective advocacy program.
We are extremely grateful to our 2012 interns for all their positive contributions. As we welcome the first group of advocacy interns in 2013, we want to say thank you one more time. To Alejandro Castro, Fiona Galvin, Chloe Ann Hedden, Zulay Carillo, Nicole Bustamante, Zahara Nakibuule-McCoy and Christopher Pinkos, we appreciate everything you did to assist our advocacy efforts in 2012. |
 2013 Here We Come!
Back in April our NPCA blog featured a story highlighting the ongoing relationship between Russ Morgan (Kenya 1966-68) and former student Mahamud Said.
Russ has been an active participant in NPCA advocacy, and continues to serve his community, nation and world in a variety of capacities.
Among his roles, Mahamud now serves as President of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims.
The story of these two men is similar to thousands of others, in which the ongoing contributions of the Peace Corps significantly impact both ends of the service spectrum.
As we thank you for everything you did in 2012 to bring the inspiring stories of Peace Corps service to our lawmakers, we look forward to continuing this work in the year to come. Happy New Year! |
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Help Us Bring Your Voice to Capitol Hill!
As 2012 came to a close, we started gearing up for 2013 by seeking your comments on why Peace Corps is important to our nation.
We've collected several hundred comments so far.
Follow this link and add your voice today!
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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.
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In 2012, NPCA Advocacy Staff held nearly 100 meetings with members of Congress and their staff - above and beyond the constituent meetings we helped to organize throughout the year.
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Members of the Chicago Area Peace Corps Association, Leslie Piotrowski (Philippines 1983-85), John Beasley (India 1966-68) and Kathy Kacen (Armenia 2002-05) meet with staff of Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) during NPCA's August district meetings initiative. |
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ADVOCACY NEWS
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Our advocacy program met with members of the Maine Peace Corps community for a dinner gathering in August. Not only did the gathering strengthen the Maine advocacy network, Maine RPCVs are the newest member group of the National Peace Corps Association.
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COMING IN 2013
MORE
NEXT STEP TRAVEL
The first two trips were held in 2012. More are on the way in 2013.
Travel with other RPCVs and participate in service vacations to Guatemala, or the Dominican Republic, or... (watch for future destinations soon).
And, look for an advocacy trip soon.
Follow this link to learn more!
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Massachusetts RPCVs met with, emailed and called the office of Senator Scott Brown back in March, resulting in the Senator signing a letter urging strong funding for the Peace Corps in Fiscal Year 2013.
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In 2012, Volunteers and Interns provided approximately 2,000 hours of service to support NPCA Advocacy efforts.
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One of the most important district meetings in August occurred in Fort Worth Texas, where a group of local RPCVs met with staff of Congresswoman Kay Granger, who serves as Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for State and Foreign Operations.
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During the 2012 National Day of Action, our advocates prepared thank you cards to congressional offices they met with, using notecards donated by the RPCVs of Wisconsin-Madison.
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In 2012, the number of advocates receiving our monthly advocacy updates and action alerts surpassed 17,000!
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The National Peace Corps Association is recognized by Charity Navigator as a Four Star Charity, the highest rating given by this independent evaluator which analyses the financial health and efficiencies of non-profit organizations.
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Participants in our 2012 National Day of Action activities on Capitol Hill got some extra special treats. One of the participants (above), former Kentucky Congressman Mike Ward (The Gambia 1977-78), took participants on the House floor at the end of the day. Earlier, folksinger Peter Yarrow (below), entertained members of the Peace Corps community with an impromptu concert in the office of RPCV Congressman John Garamendi.
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Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) spoke about the importance of the Peace Corps and the advocacy efforts of the Peace Corps community during this year's annual gathering.
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"Linda and I had a good meeting with Mr. Mendoza, (staff of Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart) about a half hour. He remembered me from September and knows some things about the Peace Corps.
"Linda and I talked a little bit about our experiences in the Peace Corps, about how much we gained from it, and how we have brought it back home and continue serving. I handed to him Emily's letter (on behalf of the South Florida RPCVs) and the handouts from NPCA."
Excerpt from an August, 2012 district meeting report provided by Ana Ciereszko (St. Vincent and Grenadines 1969-71)
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"As a graduate student I have not been able to donate a lot to NPCA, but I am now a dues-paying member...I also made a very small but extra donation for one of NPCA's larger goals - advocacy. That's important to me."
Andrea Kruse (Bulgaria 2008-10) Minnesota Advocacy Coordinator
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A Popular Place When we send you our monthly advocacy updates, we always include a link to our online store Several hundred of our advocates visited the store during 2012. And that helps us, given that a portion of your purchase supports the efforts of the National Peace Corps Association. Thank you! |
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A New Record?
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) had been in office for only 22 days when she met NPCA Board Vice President Pat Wand (r) last March 1st during our National Day of Action. Congresswoman Bonamici immediately signed onto the House letter requesting $400 million for the Peace Corps.
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