Wisconsin-Madison RPCVs win first national recognition award



Wisconsin-Madison RPCVs win first national recognition award

Peace Corps members here get national award

10:57 pm 8/14/04

Erin Olson Wisconsin State Journal

The 200-plus active members of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Wisconsin-Madison have received the first national recognition award for returned Peace Corps volunteers.

"It was really nice to receive it," said Rose Ann Scott, business manager for Madison's RPCV. "To be picked first is really pretty incredible. There are a lot of other groups."

The award honors the group's work in advancing the third goal of the Peace Corps: helping Americans gain a better understanding of other cultures.

"We're bringing the world back home," said Scott, who went to Sierra Leone with the Peace Corps in 1967.

Madison's returned Peace Corps volunteers have published a calendar since 1987 to raise money for projects in countries where volunteers have served.

Scott said the RPCV donated $80,000 they had raised from calendar sales in 2003.

The calendar features photos from all over the world that convey the Peace Corps experience.

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Scott added that the Madison RPCV has donated more than half a million dollars from calendar sales since they began 17 years ago.

"There's really nothing that compares in all of the returned Peace Corps groups," Scott said.

UW-Madison has produced more Peace Corps volunteers than any other school in the nation for the past 10 years.

This Month's Issue: August 2004 Teresa Heinz Kerry celebrates the Peace Corps Volunteer as one of the best faces America has ever projected in a speech to the Democratic Convention. The National Review disagreed and said that Heinz's celebration of the PCV was "truly offensive." What's your opinion and who can come up with the funniest caption for our Current Events Funny? Exclusive: Director Vasquez speaks out in an op-ed published exclusively on the web by Peace Corps Online saying the Dayton Daily News' portrayal of Peace Corps "doesn't jibe with facts." In other news, the NPCA makes the case for improving governance and explains the challenges facing the organization, RPCV Bob Shaconis says Peace Corps has been a "sacred cow", RPCV Shaun McNally picks up support for his Aug 10 primary and has a plan to win in Connecticut, and the movie "Open Water" based on the negligent deaths of two RPCVs in Australia opens August 6. Op-ed's by RPCVs: Cops of the World is not a good goal and Peace Corps must emphasize community development.