Saundra Schimmelpfennig has agreed to serve as a Crisis Corps volunteer in Thailand as part of the Peace Corps' tsunami relief efforts



Saundra Schimmelpfennig has agreed to serve as a Crisis Corps volunteer in Thailand as part of the Peace Corps' tsunami relief efforts

USU alumna to serve as Crisis Corps volunteer in Thailand for tsunami relief

Hard News Café
Utah State University
Logan, Utah
March 16, 2005

DENVER - Saundra Schimmelpfennig, a Utah State University alumna, has agreed to serve as a Crisis Corps volunteer in Thailand as part of the Peace Corps' tsunami relief efforts.

Schimmelpfennig and seven other Crisis Corps volunteers will depart Friday, making up the first Crisis Corps team to be dispatched to South East Asia in response to the tsunami disaster. A total of 60 Crisis Corps volunteers are expected to assist in the recovery efforts during the coming year, with 30 to serve in Thailand and 30 in Sri Lanka.

Crisis Corps volunteers work on short-term projects, using the skills they learned as Peace Corps volunteers and in their post-service careers.

Schimmelpfennig, 35, will be one of three Resource Development Volunteers who will work with local governments in determining where the greatest needs of the country and its citizens lie and to help identify resources to help local communities. The Resource Development Volunteers will also put together a local staff to ensure that progress continues after the Crisis Corps team departs.

Schimmelpfennig originally served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand from 1997 to 1999 as an environmental education volunteer. Upon her return to the United States, she worked as a Peace Corps recruiter for USU. She serves as a naturalist for The Outdoor Science School in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Schimmelpfennig received a bachelor's degree in environmental studies from USU and a master's degree in education through the Peace Corps Fellows Program at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

These initial five male and three female Crisis Corps volunteers, all returned Peace Corps volunteers, are leaving their homes, professional careers, friends and family to again answer the call to service. They will rely on their past Peace Corps experience, their Thai language skills and cultural knowledge, as well as their professional skills in their six-month assignment.

In addition to the Resource Development Volunteers, the other Crisis Corps volunteers will be working as Construction and Database Development Volunteers. The four Construction Volunteers will be responsible for the rebuilding of permanent housing for tsunami survivors. They will also assist in other construction projects, as well as packaging donated goods for delivery to families. The one Database Development Volunteer will develop a database to track community damage assessments and reconstruction costs of local residents and their property in the disaster area. This database will also be useful in the event of future disasters.

Nearly 600 returned Peace Corps volunteers have taken the opportunity to use their invaluable skills and experiences to address ongoing community needs in over 30 different countries since Crisis Corps' inception in 1996.

Since 1961, more than 178,000 volunteers have served in the Peace Corps in 138 countries, working in such diverse fields as education, health, HIV/AIDS education and prevention, information technology, business development, the environment, and agriculture. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment.

When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state.

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RPCVs in Congress ask colleagues to support PC RPCVs Sam Farr, Chris Shays, Thomas Petri, James Walsh, and Mike Honda have asked their colleagues in Congress to add their names to a letter they have written to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, asking for full funding of $345 M for the Peace Corps in 2006. As a follow-on to Peace Corps week, please read the letter and call your Representative in Congress and ask him or her to add their name to the letter.

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Add your info now to the RPCV Directory Call Harris Publishing at 800-414-4608 right away to add your name or make changes to your listing in the newest edition of the NPCA's Directory of Peace Corps Volunteers and Former Staff. Then read our story on how you can get access to the book after it is published. The deadline for inclusion is May 16 so call now.

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March 12, 2005: This Week's Top Stories The Coyne Column: Read Winning Essay by PCV 12 Mar Laura Germino helps Migrant Workers Advocacy Group 12 Mar Sam Farr impresses medical-pot advocacy group 11 Mar Fred O'Regan writes Op-Ed on Canada seal hunt 11 Mar Fern Holland remembered In Oklahoma 10 Mar Mountaineer Charles Houston receives honorary degree 10 Mar Elaine Chao led delegation for President's inauguration 10 Mar Chris Dodd wins Hispanic Capital Award 9 Mar Pat Waak is new Colorado Democratic Party Chair 9 Mar Chris Matthews withdraws from Florida Event 9 Mar Timothy J. O'Brien returns to Korea 8 Mar Tomas Belsky's paintings inspired by service in Brazil 7 Mar Christopher Hill to be Assistant Secretary of State 7 Mar Allen Moore is Sen Frist's Deputy Chief of Staff 7 Mar Jim Doyle heads trade delegation to Mexico 5 Mar Al Kamen says Narcissus Is Now Greek AND Roman 4 Mar Diana Gomez says to do something about Peace 4 Mar

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March 12, 2005: RPCV Groups in the News San Diego RPCVs host reception with Gaddi Vasquez on March 6 4 Mar Alaska RPCVs speak for dividend 4 Mar Western North Carolina's RPCVs sponsor Africa Night on March 6 3 Mar Maryland RPCVs lobby their Senators for Peace Corps 3 Mar Connecticut RPCVs hold fundraiser on March 5 3 Mar Charles Baquet speaks at Louisiana PC Breakfast on March 4 28 Feb RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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March 1: National Day of Action Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went.

Make a call for the Peace Corps PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week.

Peace Corps Calendar: Tempest in a Teapot? Bulgarian writer Ognyan Georgiev has written a story which has made the front page of the newspaper "Telegraf" criticizing the photo selection for his country in the 2005 "Peace Corps Calendar" published by RPCVs of Madison, Wisconsin. RPCV Betsy Sergeant Snow, who submitted the photograph for the calendar, has published her reply. Read the stories and leave your comments.

WWII participants became RPCVs Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service.

Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress.

Read the stories and leave your comments.