March 3, 2003 - The New Mandate Group and the NPCA: How the Peace Corps and the Returned Volunteer Community can work together to pass HR250

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By Admin1 (admin) on Monday, March 03, 2003 - 9:31 pm: Edit Post

How the Peace Corps and the Returned Volunteer Community can work together to pass HR250





Read and comment on this story on how the Peace Corps and RPCVs can work together to pass landmark legislation that will benefit the Peace Corps and the Returned Volunteer Community for years to come at:

How the Peace Corps and the Returned Volunteer Community can work together to pass HR250*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



How the Peace Corps and the Returned Volunteer Community can work together to pass HR250

Last Month PCOL published a story about RPCVs who had raised $7,500 to place an ad in the New York Times opposing War in Iraq. Since our story one month ago, the group has raised over $46,000, received contributions from 1,400 RPCVs, placed a half page ad in the New York Times, and is planning to place another ad in the Times in March. Read our exclusive story by Collin Tong, one of the group's leaders, with a behind-the-scenes look at how it was done and the many valuable lessons on how RPCVs can organize and make their voices heard if they are willing to take a stand on something they believe in. This is a story you can only read on PCOL at:

How RPCVs organized anti-war Ad

There is another group of RPCVs who have an issue they strongly believe in and they need your help. Please take two minutes and email a message to Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez at GVasquez@PeaceCorps.gov and ask him to endorse Peace Corps Bill HR250. This is the same bill that Senator Dodd introduced in the Senate last year that passed by unanimous consent with Director Vasquez's previous endorsement but that unfortunately died in the House of Representatives before it could be voted on.

The bill makes funds available to double the size of the Peace Corps, it reinforces the independence of the Peace Corps, and it creates an independent Innovation Fund of $10M that will be made available to RPCVs for Third Goal projects.

If Returned Volunteers and the Peace Corps can work together, they can get this bill passed this year. Its successful passage will be a milestone in Peace Corps History and part of Director Vasquez's legacy as Peace Corps Director for years to come. Send your email to the Director at GVasquez@PeaceCorps.gov ask him to throw his support behind HR250. If you would like your message to be added to a petition that will be sent to the Peace Corps then cc a blind copy of your message to PeaceCorpsRPCVs@aol.com. Read more about the bill and help RPCVs work for its passage with this memo from the NPCA:


TO: ALL RPCVS and FORMER PEACE CORPS STAFF

FROM: THE NEW MANDATE GROUP and THE NATIONAL PEACE CORPS ASSOCIATION (Dave Hibbard, 303-604-5049, Dane Smith, Pat Reilly, and Roger Landrum)

GOAL: PASSING LEGISLATION TO EXPAND THE PEACE CORPS AND CREATE A FUND FOR RPCV PROJECTS

With war looming, the role of the Peace Corps needs to be strengthened and RPCVs need to play a greater role in advancing peaceful development in the world. Legislation is now in Congress to achieve these goals.

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO GET YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE TO CO-SPONSOR THIS LEGISLATION.

HR 250, introduced into the House of Representatives on 1/8/2003, by Congressman Sam Farr (RPCV), with 19 co-sponsors, calls for:
a. reinforcing the independence of the Peace Corps
b. doubling the size and funding of Peace Corps over five years
c. creating an independent Innovation Fund for RPCV projects
d. a new Advisory Council to the Peace Corps
Our goals are to get legislation passed in the House of Representatives with these four provisions and to call on the Peace Corps Director, Gaddi Vasquez, to take a unified stand with RPCVs in support of all these provisions.

These goals can be achieved with your help:
1. Please, contact your Representative by email or fax. An easy way to send an email is to go to www.house.gov/writerep, and follow instructions. Tell him/her in your own words that you are asking him/her to co-sponsor HR 250, The Peace Corps Charter for the 21st Century Act, and also asking for support of full funding authorized in HR 250.
2. Ask Gaddi Vasquez, Peace Corps Director, to take a unified stand with RPCVs in support of the provisions in HR 250. Unity by the Peace Corps leadership and RPCVs is the best way to achieve our common goals, including the full funding authorized in HR 250. Be polite! Director Vasquez can be emailed c/o his Director for Congressional Relations, Marie Wheat, at <mwheat@peacecorps.gov>
We need 100 or more co-sponsors of HR 250 by 4-1-03. Please make a commitment to getting your Representative to co-sponsor this legislation. Ask other RPCVs or friends in your Congressional District to make the same request until your Representative agrees to co-sponsor HR 250.

Please send us a copy of your emails at <advocacy@rpcv.org>. Let us know when your Representative has agreed to co-sponsor HR 250. This is a great opportunity for RPCVs to strengthen the Peace Corps AND create an Innovation Fund for RPCV projects for peaceful development.

PROMOTING PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT IS SOMETHING WE CAN ALL SUPPORT NOW. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
How HR250 will benefit the Returned Volunteer Community



Read and comment on this article sent to us by RPCV Dave Hibbard on how HR 250 will beneift the Returned Volunteer Community. at:

When you read what follows, you will understand why, in addition to independence for the Peace Corps, Section 10 of HR 250 is so vitally important to Returned Peace Corps Volunteers nationwide. We call Section 10 the "Innovation Fund" because it results in very innovative projects, which in turn, could be models for future Peace Corps and other development assistance agencies. Note: there is nothing in these examples interfering in U.S. foreign policy or USAID or Peace Corps---any more than what American foundations do, American businesses, Americans NGOs, etc.

RETURNED PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER (RPCV) INNOVATIONS IN DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE AND COMMUNITY SERVICE -- SOME EXAMPLES JANUARY, 2003

Following their experience as Peace Corps Volunteers, many former volunteers have combined career expertise and the ethic of service to develop pathbreaking projects in international development , global education and community service. This "second generation" impact was anticipated and discussed by the founders of the Peace Corps, although never established as a formal part of Peace Corps operations. RPCVs have undertaken projects as offshoots of their professional work, as volunteers, and as entrepreneurs as well as through their alumni associations. New legislation now before Congress, the Peace Corps Charter for the 21st Century, authorizes an independent grant-making fund to support and encourage "second generation" activities by RPCVs as extension of the original goals of the Peace Corps. These projects could pioneer new trends in development assistance, international cooperation, and educating Americans about the cultures and hopes of common people across the world.

The examples that follow of independent initiatives by RPCVs is a partial list of kinds of activities that might be supported through S2667 and HR 4979. Passage of this legislation would both "discover" and encourage many more such projects by RPCVs.


1. Pedals for Progress. In 1991 David Schweidenback (Ecuador, 1977-80) gave up his successful construction company to expand a bicycle recycling project devoted to helping poor villagers around the world improve their earning capacity by providing affordable transportation in the form of a used but serviceable bicycle. In its first year as a small, nonprofit organization Pedals for Progress collected, recycled and shipped 2,700 bikes. In year 2000, 8,983 bikes, 36 computers, and 75 sewing machines were shipped to nonprofit partners in 11 countries. Overseas, local sponsors manage the distribution of the shipments. For example, in Macas, Ecuador the local Salesian priests take responsibility for distribution. Since its inception, Pedals for Progress has shipped more than 46,000 bicycles and other equipment to needy communities in the developing world, from Latin America to Africa to Asia. In 1997, the National Peace Corps Association recognized Schweidenback with the Sargent Shriver Award for Distinguished Humanitarian Service. This recognition led to increased funding and support. Last year, Pedals for Progress received one of five Rolex Awards for Enterprise with $75,000 and worldwide exposure for the organization. The Rolex selection committee stated, "With skills learned from his Peace Corps experience, David Schweidenback combined entrepreneurship and philosophy to dramatically broaden transportation in the developing world. He has single-handedly improved the quality of life for many thousands of people."


2. Eye Care, Inc. E. Timothy Carroll (Nigeria, 1965-67) founded Eye Care, Inc. in 1977. Inspired by several visits to an orphanage for handicapped children in Haiti while associate dean for international studies at Antioch College, Carroll started the nonprofit to serve poor Haitians suffering from eye diseases. Eye Care built, staffed and equipped four rural eye hospitals and three urban eye centers, trained hundreds of Haitians as outreach technicians , and hired successful graduates to staff local eye clinics. Eye Care built and equipped the first laser room for glaucoma control in the Caribbean and established a child survival program and marketing program for handicapped women. These services were sustained by Carroll's ability to attract funding for their initial support, raising half a million dollars annually from the private sector. Within nine years, the Eye Care programs became self sufficient and Carroll handed the operation over to an indigenous non-governmental organization, an excellent example of sustainable development.


3. Friends of Liberia. In 1996, Kevin George (Liberia 1978-81) was recognized by the National Peace Corps Association Shriver Award as the single individual who had "more impact on peace for Liberia than any other non-Liberian." In 1994, George formed the Friends of Liberia Working Group and led the organization's efforts to end that nation's civil war. Members across the country held weekly conference calls to develop an advocacy strategy for Friends of Liberia to led to what one U.S. special envoy called "a significant force in the determination of U.S. government policy toward Liberia." George inspired the 800 members of Friends of Liberia, most of them former Peace Corps Volunteers or host-country nationals, to help Liberians achieve democracy and reconstruction. George led members on fact-finding and peace-building missions and organized conflict resolution conferences involving warring factions and representatives of civil society. Friends of Liberia provided Liberians with medical care and humanitarian assistance, helped communities in rebuilding schools and clinics, provided resources to educational institutions, trained teachers and built the capacity of Liberia's non-governmental organizations. His advocacy efforts outside Liberia, including frequent testimony before committees of the U.S. Congress, led to the appointment of a U.S. Special Envoy and formation of an International Contact Group for Liberia. During this time, George was a senior attorney for a labor organization in Washington, D.C., and in February 2001 he was appointed Peace Corps country director for the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. He served for 10 years as president of Friends of Liberia, headed its 34-member delegation that observed Liberia's Special Election in 1997, and is still president emeritus of the organization.


4. World Corps. Dwight Wilson (Chile/Honduras, 1981-83) initiated World Corps as an extension of the Washington state King County Conservation Corps. The program first brought small groups of young leaders in youth development and youth employment from Mexico, Chile, India, Philippines and other countries for a stint with the King Country Corps. The goal was for them to return home to develop youth corps in their own countries. Recently, the state of Andhra Pradesh in India has taken World Corps up in a big way. Shri N. Chandrabubu Naidu, Chief Minister for Andhra Pradesh, has arranged funding for World Corps to establish a network of Community Information Centers. Local youth are selected and trained by World Corps to staff the centers. They earn income from individual customers for internet, phone, fax, and courier services, while also providing free information on market prices for agricultural goods and updates on government programs. World Corps programs and training focuses on small business entrepreneurship in information technology, watershed protection/sanitation and rural business development in combination with broader perspectives on community development and global citizenship. Young leaders from Brazil, South Africa, Kenya, Mexico and Philippines participated in the initial training for the India program. World Corps recently received a UNDP challenge grant of $50,000 to establish pilots in other countries. Pilot programs are currently under development in Mexico, Kenya and Philippines.


5. International Women's Democracy Center. Barbara Ferris (Morocco, 1980-82) founded IWDC as a nonprofit to train women worldwide for participation in governance and the electoral process. In collaboration with nonprofit partner organizations in participating countries, IWDC training workshops for women leaders cover campaign management, issue advocacy, fund raising, legislative development,policy analysis and networking. The organization also conducts research on women's leadership and levels of participation. IWDC operates through contracted services, grants, and fund-raising from private sources. It has conducted training workshops and technical assistance in multiple countries. The need is apparent and initial results have been impressive. Like all pioneering initiatives growing out of Peace Corps experience and know-how, the challenge is funding to build a high-impact international venture.


6. Youth Service International. After a decade of leadership in the youth service movement that led to AmeriCorps, Roger Landrum (Nigeria, 1961-63) and Richard Harrill (Hungary, 1993-95) teamed up in 1998 to launch Youth Service International. YSI's mission is to develop youth service programming and civil society participation with young people in transitional democracies and developing countries. YSI has developed a thriving partner organization in Hungary, with Hungarian staff and board, that operates youth service programs in more than 20 secondary schools, higher education, and local NGOs--with the goal of developing a nation-wide system of youth service in Hungary and other Central and Eastern European countries. YSI just completed a planning conference for 30 invited participants from Russia, Poland and Hungary on strategies for development of youth service programming in those countries and collaborative cross-border projects related to professional exchanges, programming with secondary school students, summer corps,and higher education initiatives. YSI also conducts a summer service corps in Ecuador for college participants from Ecuador and Reed College. YSI was launched with a USIA-Hungary small democracy grant and individual contributors (mostly RPCVs).


Dave Hibbard, M.D. 303-604-5049

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By Lauren Hale (laurenhale) on Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 8:49 pm: Edit Post

The introduction to this excellent section on H.R. 250 includes the sentence: "The bill makes funds available to double the size of the Peace Corps....and it creates an independent Innovation Fund of $10M that will be made available to RPCVs for Third Goal projects." This statement leaves out part of the story. Funds would not be immediately available if H.R. 250 became law.

H.R. 250, the Peace Corps Charter for the 21st Century Act, is an authorization bill. Authorization bills provide the authority for an agency or program to exist; they establish or continue the agency or program. They determine its policy. They also recommend spending levels, but these levels are not binding.

Appropriations bills provide funds for authorized programs. The House and the Senate each have an Appropriations Committee. Their subcommittees draft the annual appropriations bills that fund the federal government. The Peace Corps and other foreign assistance programs are funded through the annual foreign operations appropriations bill. For information on the House Appropriations Committee and its foreign operations subcommittee, see http://www.house.gov/appropriations. For information on the Senate Appropriations Committee and its foreign operations subcommittee, see http://appropriations.senate.gov.

The House of Representatives Rules Committee has an excellent section on the budget process at http://www.house.gov/rules/budget_pro.htm.

For a shorter (and somewhat cynical) view of the appropriations process, see www.yourcongress.com. Click on "Your Money and then "Quick and Dirty on the Budget." Lauren Hale

By subhashini (202.63.101.19) on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - 10:17 pm: Edit Post

Hello,

We are having christ console church .we are doing so many programs for childrens,oldpeople,education.but we are not having enough funds.Any body donate the funds

By swathi (202.63.101.19) on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - 10:14 pm: Edit Post

Hello everybody,

My mother is having leg operation for joints.can any body help me.


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