FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 27, 2003
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Peace Corps
Barbara Daly
202.692.2230 |
Peace Corps’ 42nd Anniversary: Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Build Bridges Across Cultures |
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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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