News
Kelly Morris shares his perspective on NPCA’s Benevolent Fund
In his own words…. Kelly Morris shares his perspective on NPCA’s Benevolent Fund. Were it not for my Peace Corps friends working with NPCA’s Benevolent Fund who came to our assistance, I don’t know what we would have done. I feel very humbled by the actions of my friends in the RPCV community. Having chosen a life of service to others, I never imagined that one day I would need and be the beneficiary of others’ service to me. I am extremely grateful for all their contributions to us. I was obliged to retire early at the...
Coming Your Way in March: NPCA’s National Days of Action!
National Peace Corps Association's (NPCA) March 1st Capitol Hill Day of Action to support a stronger and better Peace Corps is booked to capacity! But that's not all that is happening. Not even close. Our National Days of Action (that's right, days) is designed for all Peace Corps supporters to come together at a key moment on the calendar to: Make sure Peace Corps gets strong funding in the current (FY 2018) budget, as we also kick-off critical mobilization for FY 2019 Peace Corps and international affairs funding. Make sure the best possible Peace Corps health and safety legislation passes in...
In Memoriam – February 2018
From long standing public servants, to an icon of the civil rights movement, to an early Silicon Valley entrepreneur, to a late-in-life volunteer who was among the oldest to serve in the Peace Corps. So many impressive members of the Peace Corps community passed away in recent weeks and months. We remember them here. She served as a special assistant to four Peace Corps directors between 1976 and 1982, and is credited with quadrupling the number of women and minorities appointed as country directors and senior staff. But that wasn’t the first Peace Corps encounter for Nancy A. Graham (1926 – 2018). That came...
Calling for Your Nominees for the Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award
National Peace Corps Association is accepting nominations for the 2019 Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award. Do you know a phenomenal leader in a country where Peace Corps Volunteers served — and his or her life was influenced by the Peace Corps? If so, now is the time to recognize their work by nominating this leader for this prestigious award. Download the Wofford Award nomination packet, the nominator form and nominee form, and submit all materials to [email protected] by December 21, 2018. NPCA is proud to celebrate the tireless individuals abroad who have yet to be thanked for their dedication and hard work. To do this, we need to hear from you....
President’s FY19 Budget Signals More Cuts for the Peace Corps
Dear NPCA Community, The President’s budget for fiscal year 2019 was released today and it proposes a budget of $396 million for the Peace Corps. After already requesting a $12 million cut in fiscal 2018—the deepest from a White House in over 40 years—the 2019 request further reduces Peace Corps' budget by another $2 million. This represents a step in the wrong direction. At a time when supply and demand for Peace Corps Volunteers is robust, when American grassroots diplomacy is urgently needed to strengthen relationships with communities around the world, and when more returned Volunteers are needed in leadership positions in...
J. Henry “Hank” Ambrose, NPCA Board Chair, Reflects on his Peace Corps journey
In celebration of Black History Month, we asked NPCA Board of Directors Chair, J. Henry “Hank” Ambrose, to reflect on his Peace Corps journey. Hank entered Emory University in the fall of 1965, after graduating from a segregated high school in Memphis, Tennessee. The first in his family to attend university, Hank expected it to be a different world, but not in the ways he encountered. Active in high school, he was eager to get involved on campus. However, he immediately faced resistance. He was blackballed, as were other men of color, from “rushing” a fraternity. Not thwarted, he pursued...
2017 Sam Farr Congressional Leadership Award Winners Selected
We are proud to announce the winners of the 2017 Sam Farr Congressional Leadership Award are Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Patrick Leahy, Representative Ted Poe and Representative Joe Kennedy. As Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively, on the Appropriations Committee, Senator Graham and Senator Leahy have worked to ensure that the Peace Corps has the funding it needs. Representative Poe and Representative Kennedy have taken up the critical task of improving the health, safety and security of currently-serving and returned Volunteers. The awards will be presented by former Representative Sam Farr during NPCA’s Capitol Hill Day of Action on March 1st. Despite the Administration proposing...
Senate Committee Passes Safety/Health Legislation
On the five-year anniversary of the death of Nick Castle, a Peace Corps Volunteer who served in China, legislation named in his memory took a step closer to passage in the United States Senate. Yesterday, the Nick Castle Peace Corps Reform Act of 2017 (S. 2286) was approved unanimously by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The legislation outlines key parameters to ensure the agency hires well-qualified personnel capable of administering effective health care services for volunteers, and calls upon the agency to complete all open recommendations from a 2016 Inspector General Assessment on medical care. The legislation also includes provisions that extend key elements of volunteer safety legislation (passed in 2011)...
National Peace Corps Association Supports Continued Improvements to Safety and Security of PCVs
National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) continues to stand by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) that were victims of sexual assault during their service. We also recognize the efforts Peace Corps has made to better support victims of sexual assault. Legislation introduced by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) and Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) will also further address the challenges that victims face in country and upon their return home. NPCA strongly supports both pieces of legislation and encourages you to join us. Throughout the month of March, during our National Days of Action, we are meeting with lawmakers at the district level and...
Saving Lives Through Art
Three San artists from D’Kar, Botswana, recently traveled to the United States for the first time for an exhibit and sale of their unique, colorful folk art. The artists—Jan Tcega John, Xhoma Simon, Ndodonyane Ditsheko-- and the Kuru Art Director Maude Brown, spent 11 days in Santa Cruz, California as guests of the exhibit organizer, Peggy Flynn, RPCV Botswana (2013-2016). Fifteen oil paintings were sold via live and silent auctions; 37 original linocuts were sold, and a seven-day safari for two in the Okavango Delta of Botswana was auctioned as were three Annieglass © plates that were hand painted by the San artists a...