Costa Rica RPCV Abe Pena and his wife have made a donation to the UNM School of Agriculture to use for scholarships



Costa Rica RPCV Abe Pena and his wife have made a donation to the UNM School of Agriculture to use for scholarships

Supporting our future farmers and ranchers

GRANTS - Future farmers and ranchers will receive a little help from now on thanks to the Abe M. and Viola R. Pena Endowed Fund for Farming and Ranching Collections, which was recently started for students at the University of New Mexico (UNM).

Pena, a published author, historian and world traveler who grew up in the ranching community of San Mateo and settled in Grants after his retirement, donated a sum of money to the UNM School of Agriculture to use for scholarships.

"The farmers and ranchers have kept us fed," Pena said when explaining why he and his wife made the contribution to UNM. "You can go to the stars when your tummy is full." Pena added that during his years with the Peace Corps, he lived in many countries where people did not get enough to eat, and the experience made him realize that the work and sacrifice of farmers and ranchers is one of the main reasons America is so great.

Pena said he also believes that it is a mistake to rely too heavily on the public sector for funding our young people's future. "I feel strongly that we're going to have to dig into our own pockets and assist," he said.

In addition to the scholarship fund, Pena donated his personal and professional papers to UNM's Rio Grande Historical Collections earlier this year.

When this story was posted in May 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 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today. If you have a web site, support the "Peace Corps Library" and link to it today.

---

---

April 30, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Carol Bellamy's approach earned her many critics 29 Apr Vermont has highest per-capita PCVs in service 29 Apr Jim Doyle to veto photo id voting bill 28 Apr Tom Weisner sworn in as mayor of Aurora 28 Apr Tony Hall says parents in Uganda must protect children 27 Apr Ray Tidwell optimistic about the strawberry crop 27 Apr Tom Petri pushes federal Student Aid Reward Act 26 Apr Zell Miller illuminates his feud with Chris Matthews 26 Apr The Estabrooks heading for Burkina Faso 26 Apr James Walsh leads Nepal delegation 25 Apr Michele Linnen opens Photography Show in Paris 25 Apr Sam Farr opposes energy bill 25 Apr Shiv Maira remembered by children in Turkmenistan 24 Apr Juana Bordas works toward a "Multicultural Nation" 24 Apr Christopher Hill consulting officials in Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul 23 Apr PC says program in Uzbekistan is fully operational 23 Apr John Platt's Andina named "Restaurant Of The Year" 22 Apr

---

April 30, 2005: Special Events RPCV Writers scholarship in Baltimore - deadline June 1 Gary Edwards' music performed in Idaho on May 24 Jody Olsen speaks at Ivy College on May 6 Delano Lewis to speak in Albuquerque on May 2 25 Apr Nepal RPCV film showing in Massachusetts on April 30 RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

---

Friends of the Peace Corps 170,000 strong 170,000 is a very special number for the RPCV community - it's the number of Volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. It's also a number that is very special to us because March is the first month since our founding in January, 2001 that our readership has exceeded 170,000. And while we know that not everyone who comes to this site is an RPCV, they are all "Friends of the Peace Corps." Thanks everybody for making PCOL your source of news for the Returned Volunteer community.

Read the stories and leave your comments.