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National Peace Corps Association > News > Polyglot > NPCA’s September Visits Around the Country
NPCA’s September Visits Around the Country
By Molly Mattessich on Wednesday, September 15th, 2010
Minnesota RPCV’s enjoy chatting at a Labor Day weekend picnic potluck at Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis, MN.
A picnic in the park, a panel discussion, a pint. These are all of the ways around which I met prospective and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) this month during travels to Minneapolis, San Diego, and Seattle.
Nearly 40 RPCVs and their families came to Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis, MN for a Labor Day weekend picnic to hear the National Peace Corps Association’s plans to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps. This event was the first time since my Peace Corps service that I have returned to my home state to share information as an RPCV. What made this event even more fun was that my mom and stepdad came along to meet the RPCV group members and see the kind of work that we do in the community.
- Molly and Kevin meet Bill Gates, Sr, who welcomed everyone to the community forum at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Next, I flew to Seattle and met up with NPCA president Kevin Quigley for a marathon set of meetings with our grant partner, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Foundation invited local African Diaspora community leaders to a forum to learn about its work in agriculture and Africa. This forum was the highlight of our visit and gave us an opportunity to share our work with Africa Rural Connect and create partnerships with people who were there. We are very interested in reaching out to the Diaspora community to hear their ideas about the ARC site and especially its potential utility for collaborative exchange in a variety of areas.
The World Affairs Council panel at the University of Washington included presentations by five RPCVs on “The Legacy of the Peace Corps.”
Kevin and I also took part in a panel discussion organized by the Seattle arm of the World Affairs Council held at the University of Washington. Other RPCVs on the panel included Charles Brennick (Paraguay ‘92-‘94), Founder and Director, InterConnection, Cindy Nofziger (Sierra Leone ’85-’87), Executive Director, Schools for Salone, and Arlene Mitchell (Niger ’73-’76), Interim Deputy Director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Agriculture Development/Market Access/Structured Demand.
Nearly 90% of the audience was made up of RPCVs at the World Affairs Council event.
We all presented our respective projects and how the legacy of the Peace Corps lives on post-service in a myriad of ways. We had over 75 attendees, including recruiters from the Seattle Peace Corps office; I was happy that my Seattle-based sister who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand was able to attend this event.
Attendees at the San Diego RPCV happy hour.
By the end of the week, I was ready to enjoy the warmth of sunny California and spend time with the San Diego RPCV group. They are a lively bunch and already have organized several events to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps. Along with San Diego RPCV Board and group members, representatives from the Los Angeles Peace Corps Recruiting Office were present to answer questions from the dozen or so prospective Volunteers who attended.
Each group of RPCVs had its own special energy and I can’t wait to see the different ways that we all come together during 2011 to celebrate the future of the Peace Corps.
See more photos of these events on our Facebook Fan Page.
Attendees at the San Diego RPCV happy hour.
One of my good friends is going into the Peace Corps on Sept. 20th, and I’d like to find someone who’s been to Ethiopia and can give me some advice on how to best support him on this journey. Thanks in advance for any help you can give!!
What a good friend you are! Check out our listing of NPCA member groups here: http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/resources/member-groups/. There is a Friends of Ethiopia and Eritrea group that you can connect with. Also, find your local area RPCV group. You’re sure to be welcomed at social events hosted by RPCVs and regardless of where they served, RPCVs will be full of good advice on what RPCVs crave when overseas. But watch out…you might want to join too!