WASHINGTON, D.C., February 28, 2003 -- Today, in celebration of the forty-second anniversary of the agency, thousands of former Peace Corps volunteers will share the experiences and insights they gained from their overseas service with communities across the country. More than half a million students in the United States welcomed Returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCVs) into their classrooms nationwide and learned about cultures from Armenia to Zambia and Belize to Uganda. This annual event commemorates the March 1, 1961, signing of the Executive Order that established the Peace Corps.

One of the goals of the Peace Corps’ mission is to educate Americans back home about the people with whom they lived and worked. These efforts are highlighted on Peace Corps Day and extend throughout the year. The agency’s Paul D. Coverdell World Wise Schools (CWWS) program offers a variety of educational opportunities to promote cross-cultural understanding and public service.

Various Peace Corps Day celebrations were held in the Washington, DC metro area. At the Marie Reed Community Learning Center, the Liberian and Zambian Ambassadors joined Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez for a school assembly to discuss the Peace Corps’ work in their countries. In Fairfax, VA, at the Fairfax Villa Elementary School, an International Phone Call was held in which students, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and the Peace Corps Director joined in speaking with a currently serving volunteer in Honduras.

Additionally, in the evening an Open House was held to commemorate the opening of the new RPCV Career Center. The career center moved from its current location at Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C., to accommodate the growth in staff required to support the increasing number of Peace Corps Volunteers serving abroad. RPCVs in the Washington, D.C. metro area can now access career services at Peace Corps' Regional Recruiting Office in Rosslyn. The new Washington, D.C. area career center now has ample space and computer equipment to meet the needs of its users. The new location will allow for expansion of space and computer equipment to meet future demand for those services.

Since 1961, more than 168,000 volunteers have served in the Peace Corps, working in such diverse fields as education, health, HIV/AIDS education and awareness, information technology, business development, the environment, and agriculture. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a two-year commitment.

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