2006.07.30: July 30, 2006: Headlines: Expansion: History: Congress: Budget: LA Times: LA Times Editorial says: Peace Corps Fashionable Again
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2006.07.30: July 30, 2006: Headlines: Expansion: History: Congress: Budget: LA Times: LA Times Editorial says: Peace Corps Fashionable Again
LA Times Editorial says: Peace Corps Fashionable Again
"Today, the Peace Corps is booming again. This year, it accepted 7,810 volunteers — the largest number in 30 years — from more than 11,000 applicants, up 20% since 2000. It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence. Most volunteers are recent college graduates who came of age with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as a backdrop. And after 9/11, the urge to represent the U.S. overseas, whether in the military or in the Peace Corps, was a natural reaction."
PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call. "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace.
LA Times Editorial says: Peace Corps Fashionable Again
Peace Corps Fashionable Again
JFK-era body is experiencing a renaissance.
July 30, 2006
IT HAS BEEN NEARLY HALF a century since President Kennedy created the Peace Corps, the volunteer program that lets young Americans serve overseas in developing countries. Over the years, the corps' popularity with the public has swung back and forth. Applications surged during the war protests and love-ins of the 1960s and '70s but were flat during more placid (and prosperous) decades such as the 1990s.
Today, the Peace Corps is booming again. This year, it accepted 7,810 volunteers — the largest number in 30 years — from more than 11,000 applicants, up 20% since 2000.
It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence. Most volunteers are recent college graduates who came of age with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as a backdrop. And after 9/11, the urge to represent the U.S. overseas, whether in the military or in the Peace Corps, was a natural reaction.
This is also the generation that has seen pop stars and moguls alike take up (and even lead) the charge to address global issues such as poverty and access to healthcare. When both Bono and Bill Gates publicize a cause, it's a pretty safe bet that the vast majority of young people in America will know about it.
The corps was an outgrowth of the Cold War — the idealistic expression of containment, designed to counter Soviet influence around the world. But having tens of thousands of young Americans spending two years in some of the poorest and remotest places on Earth, helping with literacy or public health projects, is still a hugely beneficial form of public diplomacy. It is also, as any survey of the vast literature of returning volunteers will attest, a life-changing experience.
Congress allots $300 million a year to the Peace Corps. It may want to consider expanding a program that produces much-needed goodwill for the country. As Kennedy said: "The responsibility for peace is the responsibility of our entire society…. Our Peace Corps … is designed to permit our people to exercise more fully their responsibilities in the great common cause of world development."
PCOL Clarification to the LA Times Editorial
Over 182,000 volunteers have served in the Peace Corps, but another 200,000 - 300,000 volunteered to serve our country as Peace Corps Volunteers but were not able to do so due to lack of funding.
There is a minor misunderstanding in the editorial that needs to clarified. The story states that "This year, it accepted 7,810 volunteers — the largest number in 30 years — from more than 11,000 applicants, up 20% since 2000." The number 7,810 is the number of volunteers serving in the field. Since volunteers serve for two years, the number accepted each year is half the number in the field, about 4,000 a year. (Some volunteers terminate before completing their two year assignment. Some extend their service through a third year.)
This year 11,000 applied so the acceptance rate is 36%. Over the course of the 45 year history of the Peace Corps, this ratio has stayed pretty constant at between 30 and 40%. Over 182,000 volunteers have served in the Peace Corps, but another 200,000 - 300,000 volunteered to serve our country as Peace Corps Volunteers but were not able to do so due to lack of funding.
When this story was posted in July 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Changing the Face of Hunger In his new book, Former Congressman Tony Hall (RPCV Thailand) says humanitarian aid is the most potent weapon the United States can deploy against terrorism. An evangelical Christian, he is a big believer in faith-based organizations in the fight against hunger. Members of Congress have recently recommended that Hall be appointed special envoy to Sudan to focus on ending the genocide in Darfur. |
| PC will not return to East Timor in 2006 Volunteers serving in East Timor have safely left the country as a result of the recent civil unrest and government instability. Latest: The Peace Corps has informed us that at this time, the Peace Corps has no plans to re-enter the country in 2006. The Peace Corps recently sent a letter offering eligible volunteers the opportunity to reinstate their service in another country. |
| Chris Dodd considers run for the White House Senator Chris Dodd plans to spend the next six to eight months raising money and reaching out to Democrats around the country to gauge his viability as a candidate. Just how far Dodd can go depends largely on his ability to reach Democrats looking for an alternative to Hillary Clinton. PCOL Comment: Dodd served as a Volunteer in the Dominican Republic and has been one of the strongest supporters of the Peace Corps in Congress. |
| Vasquez testifies before Senate Committee Director Vasquez testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on his nomination as the new Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture replacing Tony Hall. He has been the third longest serving Peace Corps Director after Loret Ruppe Miller and Sargent Shriver. PCOL Comment: Read our thanks to Director Vasquez for his service to the Peace Corps. |
| Interview with a Hit Man RPCV John Perkins says that for many years he was an "economic hit man" in the world of international finance whose primary job was to convince less developed countries to accept multibillion dollar loans for infrastructure projects that left the recipient countries wallowing in debt and highly vulnerable to outside political and commercial interests. In this exclusive interview for "Peace Corps Online," Colombia RPCV Joanne Roll, author of Remember with Honor, talks to Perkins about his Peace Corps service, his relation with the NSA, "colonization" in Ecuador, the consequences of his work, why he decided to speak out, and what his hopes are for change. |
| Peace Corps stonewalls on FOIA request The Ashland Daily Tidings reports that Peace Corps has blocked their request for information on the Volkart case. "After the Tidings requested information pertaining to why Volkart was denied the position — on March 2 — the newspaper received a letter from the Peace Corps FOIA officer stating the requested information was protected under an exemption of the act." The Dayton Daily News had similar problems with FOIA requests for their award winning series on Volunteer Safety and Security. |
| PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
| History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
| RPCV admits to abuse while in Peace Corps Timothy Ronald Obert has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor in Costa Rica while serving there as a Peace Corps volunteer. "The Peace Corps has a zero tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law or standards of conduct established by the Peace Corps," said Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez. Could inadequate screening have been partly to blame? Mr. Obert's resume, which he had submitted to the Peace Corps in support of his application to become a Peace Corps Volunteer, showed that he had repeatedly sought and obtained positions working with underprivileged children. Read what RPCVs have to say about this case. |
| Why blurring the lines puts PCVs in danger When the National Call to Service legislation was amended to include Peace Corps in December of 2002, this country had not yet invaded Iraq and was not in prolonged military engagement in the Middle East, as it is now. Read the story of how one volunteer spent three years in captivity from 1976 to 1980 as the hostage of a insurrection group in Colombia in Joanne Marie Roll's op-ed on why this legislation may put soldier/PCVs in the same kind of danger. Latest: Read the ongoing dialog on the subject. |
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Story Source: LA Times
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Expansion; History; Congress; Budget
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Katy Perry, a friend of mine, suggested I join the Peace Corp once. Little did I know that she was 62 years of age when she joined.
My name is Brian Alves. I spent nine years as an ER RN in my RN career run. I'm single, no children. Dad's dying of leukemia. I'm 50 y.o.
Any wishes...?