Peace Corps partners with NPCA to develop web site for Returned Volunteers
New Initiatives Aid Returned Volunteers in Reaching Out to Their Community and Future Volunteers
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 26, 2003 – Returned Peace Corps volunteers who want to reach out to their communities and classrooms will now have an easier time doing so under a new agreement signed this week between the Peace Corps and the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA).
As part of a new cooperative agreement, the Peace Corps and the NPCA are developing a program to help match up returned volunteers with individuals interested in presentations about Peace Corps service. Within this new program, a Web site will be developed to allow returned volunteers to be matched up to share their Peace Corps experience with nearby teachers, community members, and organizations who have expressed interest in a visit by a returned volunteer.
Additionally, the Web site will help the NPCA locate returned volunteers willing to assist Peace Corps regional offices with recruitment on community college campuses and at other colleges and universities. Participating returned volunteers will have access to an electronic speaker’s kit and other resources to help prepare for the presentations.
“Over the past 40 years, returned volunteers have advanced the mission of the Peace Corps in countless ways," said Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez. "Through this cooperative agreement, we can provide additional opportunities for returned volunteers and help to recruit the next generation of volunteers.”
“This is a great opportunity for the NPCA community to work together with the Peace Corps to strengthen the third goal," said NPCA President Kevin F.F. Quigley regarding Peace Corps’ goal to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. "We are excited to be providing career resources to returning Volunteers and to be expanding our global education outreach into classrooms in communities across the country.”
The National Peace Corps Association is a non-profit organization of returned Peace Corps volunteers, former staff members and friends. Currently, there are more than 12,000 members and 147 affiliated groups. The NPCA was founded in 1979 and incorporated in 1983 as the national alumni association for people who have served as volunteers and staff. The NPCA has and continues to carry out the Third Goal of the Peace Corps: Bringing the World Back Home.
Since 1961, more than 170,000 volunteers have served in the Peace Corps, working in such diverse fields as education, health, HIV/AIDS education and awareness, information technology, business development, the environment, and agriculture. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a two-year commitment.
