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National Peace Corps Association > News > Advocacy > 2010 Advocacy Year in Review
2010 Advocacy Year in Review
By Jonathan Pearson on Thursday, January 6th, 2011
As the first week of Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary year winds down, here’s a look back at National Peace Corps advocacy activities during 2010.
On the Road to Meet With You: A gathering with the Central Indiana Peace Corps Association (above) was just one of the stops we made to connect with members of the Peace Corps community. During 2010, Advocacy Coordinator Jonathan Pearson traveled to 31 cities in a dozen states, meeting with about 600 RPCVs and other Peace Corps supporters.
National Day of Action: Our sixth annual National Day of Action in Support of the Peace Corps involved close to 60 advocates on Capitol Hill, as citizens around the country made phone calls, sent emails and faxes, and reached out to friends and family to do the same. The collective action yielded results: 500 hours of service to help organize and carry out the Day of Action; 112 congressional meetings; information distribution to all 535 congressional offices. The Day of Action contributed to Senate and House actions which led to 156 members of Congress showing their support for the Peace Corps.
Advancing a Peace Corps Commemorative: Led by RPCV and Peace Corps champion Sam Farr (D-CA), legislation authorizing a commemorative work near the National Mall to mark the unique, historical significance of the Peace Corps and the values it represents, received unanimous support in the House of Representatives. While the legislation was not taken up in the closing days of the Senate, activity will resume in the new 112th Congress.
Service World Initiative: 2010 marked the launch of the Service World initiative, bringing together hundreds of organizations who have direct understanding of the importance of international service to our nation. NPCA is a primary convener of the initiative, which has a long-term goal of advancing comprehensive legislation to promote various forms of international service – including and especially the Peace Corps. The launch of Service World begins with a critical online petition to show citizen support for overseas service.
Universal Basic Education: Collaborating with the Global Campaign for Education – US, we offered a number of information updates and action opportunities to address the importance and need for quality universal basic education. This included promotion of the 1 Goal: Education for All initiative around the time of the World Cup, and online petitions urging support for universal basic education.
These highlights and others were sent out Wednesday to nearly 17,000 supporters who receive regular updates as members of our NPCA Advocacy Listserv. Sign up for this listserv today. And, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for regular advocacy updates.
