News
Updated: House Unanimously Passes Act to Carry Forward Work on Peace Corps Commemorative. Senators Call for Bipartisan Support. Funding for the Peace Corps Agency Still Uncertain.
Legislation introduced by Joseph Kennedy III will enable a project years in the making to be seen through to completion. Senators Portman and Shaheen call on their colleagues to pass the bill as well. But funding for the Peace Corps Agency is still at risk for 2021, with the Senate having put forth a $51 million cut. By Jonathan Pearson After Dominican Republic Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Joseph Kennedy III (D-MA) was elected to the House of Representatives in 2012, one of the first pieces of legislation he introduced and passed provided congressional authorization for the creation of a Peace Corps Commemorative in Washington,...
King County Seeks to Double Number of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Serving as Contact Tracers to Stop the Spread of COVID-19
In a pioneer program for the country, Seattle and King County deployed a cohort of Returned Volunteers this fall. Now they have partnered with National Peace Corps Association to expand the role of the NPCA Emergency Response Network. And Returned Volunteers are wanted for contact tracing now. By Steven Boyd Saum In response to the surge in cases of COVID-19, National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) and Seattle Peace Corps Association (SEAPAX) have put out an urgent call to action for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers to serve as contact tracers with the Seattle and King County Health Department. In March...
Peace Corps Achievements — December 2020
Achievements of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Across the country — and around the world By Peter Deekle (Iran 1968–70) ALBANIA Ackeem Evans (2018–20) is the co-founder of EVERYONE EATS FOUNDATION, Inc. He is the project manager for World Central Kitchen, helping feed Louisiana refugees and first responders in the 2020 aftermath of Hurricane Laura. BENIN Megan McComb (2018–20) received a Fulbright fellowship for the 2020–21 grant year. She will serve as English Teaching Assistants (ETA) abroad. While the COVID-19 pandemic postponed travel plans, she will be able to begin her placement as soon as January 2021, conditions permitting. ...
In Memoriam – November 2020
Remembering those we’ve lost recently in the Peace Corps Community Whether in law, government, social work, or the arts, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and former Peace Corps staff are leaders and visionaries in their selected fields. We honor those leaders who recently passed away. Drew Saunders Days III (1941-2020) graduated from Hamilton College with a degree in English Literature before receiving his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1966. A year after graduating law school, Days served in the Peace Corps in Honduras from 1967 to 1969. After serving, Days became a successful civil rights lawyer focusing on police misconduct, school...
In Memoriam: Drew S. Days III, first African American to lead the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice
He also served as Solicitor General of the United States. He was a man of principle and devoted much of his life’s work to racial equality. By Steven Boyd Saum Photo courtesy Yale University Law School The Peace Corps community mourns the loss of a pioneer for our nation: Drew S. Days III, the first African American to lead the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice — and the first Black man to lead any division at Justice. He was appointed in 1977 under President Jimmy Carter. Later, under President Bill Clinton he also served as Solicitor General of...
Fight for Peace Corps Funding — And Stop a $51 Million Cut
As Peace Corps prepares to redeploy Volunteers in early 2021, the work for Peace Corps’ future begins in earnest. And right now we need to make sure there’s funding for the towering task ahead. By Jonathan Pearson Congress is working toward a December 11, 2020 deadline to agree on a Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 spending bill. And they have a $51 million Peace Corps funding difference to resolve. Earlier this year, the House of Representatives approved an FY 2021 appropriations bill that includes level funding of $410.5 million for Peace Corps. But the Senate Appropriations Committee has put forth a spending bill...
Peace Corps Connect to the Future: A vision of unparalleled scope for an unprecedented time
After all Peace Corps Volunteers were withdrawn from around the world in March 2020, an unprecedented community-driven effort has charted a course for how to reimagine, reshape, and retool the Peace Corps for a changed world. By Steven Boyd Saum Washington, D.C. (November 13, 2020) — Amid a time of unprecedented crisis for the Peace Corps and our nation as a whole, the Peace Corps community has come together to chart a way forward: with specific, actionable steps that will help reimagine and retool the Peace Corps for a changed world. Those steps are outlined in “Peace Corps Connect to...
Call for Proposals: NPCA Community Fund Small Grants Program
National Peace Corps Association seeks proposals from Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, former Peace Corps staff, and affiliate groups for small projects that contribute to amplifying the Peace Corps community's global social impact As part of National Peace Corps Association’s (NPCA) mission to amplify the Peace Corps community’s global social impact, the NPCA Community Fund supports community-based projects that make global giving more efficient, transparent, and effective through small grants. The Community Fund supports projects both internationally and in the United States in a variety of sectors. Projects are funded primarily through crowdfunding, and may be eligible for supplemental funding from NPCA on a...
Peace Corps Achievements — November 2020
Achievements of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Across the country — and around the world By Peter Deekle (Iran 1968–1970) Photo: Tavish Fenbert, evacuated from Peace Corps service in Senegal in March — and recognized in August for his work to help food insecure families in Seattle BENIN Leif Brottem (2002–2004) is an assistant professor of Global Development Studies at Grinnell College in Iowa. He currently conducts academic field research on resource use outside of Park W in Benin and Niger, and at Zakouma National Park in Chad. He recently penned “Protecting African Wildlife: A Defense of Conservation Territories” for Mongabay. CAMEROON Jomara Alexandra Laboy Rivera (2015–2018) currently works in the Peace Corps’ Office...
Dr. Anthony Fauci Sends Words of Encouragement as NPCA Launches Emergency Response Network with Contact Tracers Helping During the Pandemic
Welcomed by Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Peter Kilmarx from the National Institutes of Health, the first cohort of NPCA contact tracers is training to begin work in King County, Washington. By Dan Baker Renowned infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci offered words of encouragement and inspiration as the first cohort of the National Peace Corps Association Emergency Response Network began training as contact tracers on October 28. These inaugural members of the NPCA Emergency Response Network will work as contact tracers with the Department of Health of Seattle and King County, Washington. “I am a longstanding admirer of your passion and dedication...