Happy Holidays Everyone!  We had a great time at last weekend’s potluck with some pretty great white elephant gifts and awesome food.  Cheap chicken parts from Kazakhstan had one of the most interesting back stories (ask Roger Hume to tell you sometime) and the poppy seed roll was out of sight.  We also sold all of our calendars which is a first for us which is good, but at the same time, we apologize if you weren’t able to get one this year.  If you really want one, you can still get them directly from the source in Wisconsin at www.rpcvcalendar.org.  Thanks for coming and have a great holiday season. 

Maborok Said!

Dave Keiser

      50^th Anniversary Gathering Spotlights Critical Corps Needs

Four Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVS) from Knoxville,  Knoxville and Nashville are back  home following 50^th Anniversary celebrations in Washington, DC.  Wendy Seaward (Lesotho), Sean Keegan (Chile), Angela Harris (Papua New Guinea) and Joshua Gwinn (Burkina Faso) [photo] went to the Nation’s Capital with a message:  Support legislation to honor and strengthen the Peace Corps’ mission of promoting peace and friendship around the world. They met with Representatives Diane Black, Jim Cooper, John Duncan, Chuck Fleischman, Phil Roe, and the staffs of   Senators Llamar Alexander and Bob Corker.

The Returned Peace Corps volunteers from Tennessee were among 700 who committed themselves to participate in a September 22^nd Capitol Hill advocacy day, organized by the National Peace Corps Association, the nation’s leading non-profit organization supporting Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and the Peace Corps community.  September 22^nd marked fifty years to the day of final congressional passage and signing of the Peace Corps Act in 1961.  More than 6,000 attended Peace Corps 50^th celebrations from Sept. 21 – 25.

Advocates urged continued strong support for funding of the Peace Corps, noting the positive role Peace Corps volunteers play in U.S. outreach to the world and emphasizing the forgotten dividend and many domestic benefits RPCVs provide to communities here at home.  Earlier this year Peace Corps received a $26 million cut to its $400 million budget.  Advocates are seeking to forestall further cuts.  Some 8,655 Peace Corps volunteers are currently in the field – an increase of nearly 1,000 from a year ago and the highest number in 40 years.  Since 1961, more than 200,000 citizens have served as Peace Corps volunteers in nearly 140 different countries.

Advocates urged bi-partisan support and cooperation to ensure passage of the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act, designed to strengthen the agency’s training and response to volunteers serving overseas who are subjected to physical or sexual assault.  Since this issue received much attention earlier this year, Congress, the Peace Corps and victims advocacy groups have taken significant steps forward to address the concern. 

“I have a special interest in this area as a woman in our group was experiencing assaults at her assignment, and our Peace Corps Country Director would not address her safety issue.   Most of the serving volunteers in Lesotho at the time wrote letters to DC and had the country director removed,” stated Wendy Seaward. 

Congress is also considering legislation to authorize the creation of a commemorative work near the National Mall to mark the historic significance of the founding of the Peace Corps in 1961.  This project would use no tax payer funds.   

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Come join us in Dragon Park to snack on some worldly flavors and fun. The TN Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (TNRPCV) will be showcasing a variety of foods to sample and display items from countries where they served. Then author/illustrator Linda Ragsdale from The Peace Dragon will be leading all able artists in drawing peace dragons. Watch how letters, numbers and punctuation become the basic strokes of this peaceful messenger.

 for those of you that like to reminisce about  those first few chaotic days of Peace Corps, read Karla Diehl’s exciting blog.  Karla recently left for Uganda and is writing about her experience.   Pit latrines, dysentery, boiling your drinking water, it’s all here!   Best of luck Karla!!

http://karla-offscript.blogspot.com/

August Featured Advocates: Tennessee RPCVs

By Jonathan Pearson on Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

We’re hearing good things from around the country as members of the Peace Corps community are reaching out and scheduling district office meetings during the National Peace Corps Association’s first-ever locally based advocacy mobilization during the August congressional recess.

Nashville Tennessee is just one of the places where this is happening.  ”RPCVs are active, engaged and responsible citizens who vote,” says Angie Harris, one of the lead organizers of the local advocacy initiative of the Tennessee Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.  ”We want our government officials and our local communities to be aware of the importance of the Peace Corps and how serving as a volunteer has impacted our personal and professional lives in a positive way.”

About a half-dozen RPCVs came together last month to start mapping out a meeting strategy.  The group reviewed materials provided by the NPCA and divided responsibilities for seeking and scheduling meetings.  From Nashville to Jackson to Memphis, meetings are being sought with at least half the members of the Tennessee congressional delegation.

While the group will be making specific requests on Peace Corps funding, safety and security legislation, and Peace Corps commemorative legislation, basic education will also be part of the effort.  ”We know as RPCVs that promoting the Third Goal  (bringing the world back home) is an integral part of promoting the values of the Peace Corps,” said Harris.  ”Tennessee RPCVs want our representatives to know about the global work that volunteers do as well as the service that RPCVs continue to do at home.  And, we want to acknowledge and thank our representatives who have supported the Peace Corps.”

Congratulations to Angie and fellow Tennessee RPCVs Susanne Bennett, Evan Campa, Hope Collins, Dave Keiser, and Sheila Denemark for their local leadership in advancing district meeting advocacy efforts.  It’s an endeavor that is much more than raising awareness about their personal volunteer experiences.  As Harris notes, “Advocating for the Peace Corps is important to us because we want other Americans to have the same opportunities as we did to serve as volunteers.”

http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/2011/08/august-featured-advocates-tennessee-rpcvs/