Peace Corps Encore! Awarded Grants to Build Capacity



Peace Corps Encore! Awarded Grants to Build Capacity

Peace Corps Encore! Awarded Grants to Build Capacity

Washington, DC -- Peace Corps Encore! has announced that The W.K. Kellogg Foundation and The UPS Foundation have awarded grants of $25,000 and $150,000, respectively, to help build the new, non-profit organization's operating capacity.

Peace Corps Encore's mission is to return former Peace Corps Volunteers and staff members to short-term service (from three weeks to three months) in projects designed to match the volunteers' professional skills and experience with specific social needs.

"We are deeply indebted to The Kellogg and The UPS Foundations for their early, strong votes of confidence in Peace Corps Encore!" said chairman and CEO, Jerr Boschee. "The sooner we can build our capacity to help, the sooner our volunteers will be able to begin meeting the needs of people in the developing world."

The UPS Foundation grant runs for two years and is designed to help Peace Corps Encore! forge strategic partnerships with other NGOs, increase its talent pool to at least 2,000 volunteers (with 40 percent aged 55 years and older), and share best practices and lessons learned with other organizations.

Since debuting at the National Peace Corps Association biennial conference in Chicago last August, more than 600 volunteers from every generation of Peace Corps, from the 1960s to 2005, have joined the Peace Corps Encore! talent pool.

"We are confident that we can meet our goals," said Boschee. "There are almost 200,000 members of the Peace Corps family who understand virtually all of the world's cultures--from the village up--have a lifetime of solid professional expertise to offer, and, best of all, still want to serve."

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


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May 7, 2005: This Week's Top Stories "Peace Corps Online" on recess until May 21 7 May Carol Bellamy taking the reins at World Learning 7 May Gopal Khanna appointed White House CFO 7 May Clare Bastable named Conservationist of the Year 7 May Director Gaddi Vasquez visits PCVs in Bulgaria 5 May Abe Pena sets up scholarship fund 5 May Peace Corps closes recruiting sites 4 May Hill pessimistic over Korean nuclear program 4 May Leslie Hawke says PC should split into two organizations 4 May Peace Corps helps students find themselves 3 May Kevin Griffith's Tsunami Assistance Project collects 50k 3 May Tim Wright studied Quechua at UCLA 2 May Doyle not worried about competition 2 May Dodd discusses President's Social Security plan 1 May Randy Mager works in Blue Moon Safaris 1 May PCVs safe in Togo after disputed elections 30 Apr Michael Sells teaches Islamic History and Literature 28 Apr

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May 7, 2005: Special Events "Iowa in Ghana" on exhibit in Waterloo through June 30 "American Taboo" author Phil Weiss in Maryland on June 18 Leland Foerster opens photo exhibition at Cal State RPCV Writers scholarship in Baltimore - deadline June 1 Gary Edwards' music performed in Idaho on May 24 RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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