Recent Event Highlights: Secretary Clinton's Remarks at the Reception Marking the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps, New Peace Corps Public Service Announcement - "Conversations" , Peace Corps Reaches 40-Year High in Number of Volunteers, The Anniversary of JFK's Speech & the Peace Corps, Peace Corps Re-opens Colombia, Indonesia, and Sierra Leone, 50 Years: In Our Words - Peace Corps , and 41 more...
Created by peacecorps on Dec 1, 2010
Last updated: 10/04/11 at 12:35 PM
Thirteen thought provoking, creative photos were chosen as winners of the Peace Corps' 50th anniversary photo contest.
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=about.fiftieth.photo_contest
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presented a concert honoring the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps. The concert featured a performance by world renowned Senegalese artist Youssou N'Dour. In addition to sharing Senegalese culture, the event highlighted Peace Corps Volunteers' work in malaria prevention and education in western Africa. The Peace Corps is proud to have partnered with the Kennedy Center, a living memorial to President Kennedy, the Peace Corps' founder. View the entire performance
This summer the Peace Corps was one of three featured programs at the free Smithsonian Folklife Festival. This curated exhibition was one of the highlights of the Peace Corps' 50th Anniversary commemorative activities. We were delighted to be part of an event that has been a summer staple in our nation's capitol for 44 years.
Photos
Videos
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=about.fiftieth.folklife
Remarks given by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a reception honoring Peace Corps' 50th anniversary. Full Transcript
During a Loret Miller Ruppe Speaker Series event at Peace Corps Headquarters honoring Sargent Shriver and the founding of Peace Corps, Tim Shriver delivered these welcoming remarks. Photos
On March 5, 2011, this video debuted at the Kennedy Library in Boston in commemoration of Peace Corps' 50th anniversary. The video features Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams, original Peace Corps staff members, and Peace Corps Volunteers who served throughout the past five decades. Rare archival film footage and photographs, current field footage, and first-hand accounts illustrate the legacy of the Peace Corps.
On March 5, 2011, Peace Corps presented the JFK Service Award to six individuals in Boston, MA at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Award recipients : Chris Fontanesi, Frances Asturias, Joe Carroll Jaycox, Kathryn Davies Clark, Mostafa Lamqaddam, and Robert Ferguson
Photos
Video - Full Program
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.press.view&news_id=1723
Peace Corps commemorates 50 years of promoting world peace and friendship by honoring the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s signing of Executive Order 10924, formally establishing the Peace Corps.
Sargent Shriver Nov. 9, 1915 - Jan. 18, 2011 “The Peace Corps represents some, if not all, of the best virtues in this society. It stands for everything that America has ever stood for. It stands for everything we believe in and hope to achieve in the world.” - Sargent Shriver Visit A Tribute to Sargent Shriver
This latest PSA features a string of short conversations that unfold throughout a Volunteer's daily interactions as he shares his experience with friends, family, and others. These vignettes represent what many Returned Volunteers feel as they return from their service overseas and have life-defining experiences, accomplishments, and stories to share. Media Companies can order this video at http://www.peacecorps.gov/psa/tv
More Americans are serving as Peace Corps volunteers than there have been since 1970, when more than 9,000 volunteers were working in 59 countries. As of September 30, 2010, 8,655 Peace Corps volunteers are serving in 77 host countries.
FOX 2 News in Detroit aired this story on October 14, 2010 to recognize the anniversary of Kennedy's 1960 speech in Ann Arbor.
Peace Corps re-opens three historic programs in Colombia, Indonesia, and Sierra Leone and surpasses the 200,000 mark in total Americans who have served overseas with the Peace Corps. Photo: Sierra Leone Video: NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams aired this story in October 2010 as part of the network's continuing coverage of the Peace Corps' return to Sierra Leone.
Meet a few of the hundreds of staff members who support Peace Corps Volunteers from our Washington DC headquarters. These staff members -- many of whom are Returned Volunteers -- support our Volunteers serving in host communities and help spread the Peace Corps' mission of world peace and friendship.
Director Aaron S. Williams announces the launch of Peace Corps' Digital Library - a searchable collection of electronic Peace Corps materials from 1961 to the present - and invites current and returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCVs) to share their unique service experiences through firsthand narratives and personal photos. Visit the Peace Corps Digital Library at http://collection.peacecorps.gov/
President Barack Obama signs H.R. 3288 – an omnibus appropriations package that includes $400 million for Peace Corps operations in fiscal year 2010, the agency’s largest budget appropriation from Congress.
Joseph Acaba becomes the first former Volunteer to perform a spacewalk as a mission specialist educator aboard Space Shuttle Discovery's STS-119. He is also the first person to fly the Peace Corps flag in space. Joe Acaba served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic (1994-96).
After the 1994 genocide, Peace Corps returns to Rwanda where Volunteers begin working in secondary education and HIV/AIDS education and prevention.
Peace Corps enters online social media when it launches its Twitter account. YouTube (July '09) Facebook (August '09) and Flickr (February '10) soon follow. YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/peacecorps Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/peacecorps Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/peacecorps
This public service announcement features a series of Americans, from diverse walks of life, who hear the calling to become Peace Corps Volunteers. Narrated by Ricardo Chavira, who currently stars as Carlos Solis on the ABC show "Desperate Housewives." Ricardo's parents served together as Peace Corps Volunteers in Peru from 1966-1968.
For the first time, Volunteers are deployed domestically when Peace Corps Response assists the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s relief operations in the Gulf Coast region following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The agency launches a new national marketing campaign to reacquaint Americans with the Peace Corps. It is called, "Life is calling. How far will you go?"
Then first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan dedicate the Peace Corps' new building on 20th Street in Washington, D.C. From Left to Right: Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan, First Lady Hillary Clinton, Sargent Shriver and Queen Noor cut the ribbon at Peace Corps building dedication.
Following apartheid, the first group of 33 Peace Corps volunteers arrive in South Africa.
The Peace Corps celebrates its 35th anniversary. Nearly 7,000 Volunteers are serving in 94 developing countries.
Peace Corps sends three Volunteers to Antigua to rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Luis. This pilot originally known as Crisis Corps is now called Peace Corps Response, a program that provides short-term humanitarian service to countries worldwide. For more information on Peace Corps Response, visit http://www.peacecorps.gov/response
In 1995, Peace Corps Volunteers in Romania create the first Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) to address the unique challenges that local young women face. Today, Peace Corps Volunteers in over 60 posts worldwide are empowering young women by organizing Camp GLOW programs that encourage self confidence, challenge campers to think beyond traditional gender roles, and address the unique societal and health issues that young women face in their communities.
Carol Bellamy, a returned Peace Corps Volunteer from Guatemala, becomes the first returned Peace Corps Volunteer to serve as Peace Corps Director 1993-1995). She is followed by Mark Schneider, who served in El Salvador (Director from 1999-2001); Ronald Tschetter, who served in India (Director from 2006-2008); and Aaron Williams, who served in the Dominican Republic (Director from 2009-Present).
The first group of Volunteers to serve as English teachers in China arrives in-country.
The first group of Peace Corps Volunteers to serve in Central and Eastern Europe depart for Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Slovak Republic. (1990)
Barbara Jo White, a Volunteer in the Dominican Republic (1987-1989), creates the first World Map Project at a local school. Volunteers today continue to use the project as an educational tool worldwide.
Months before the agency’s 25th anniversary, there are more women entering service than men, a first in the agency’s history.
"Volunteers" premiers, starring Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson and John Candy as fictional Peace Corps Volunteers in Southeast Asia. Peace Corps has been mentioned in pop culture since the 1960s. Some highlights include, the "Pink Panther" (1963), "Animal House" (1978), "Airplane!" (1980), "Dirty Dancing" (1987), "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (2005), "The Simpsons", and "Family Guy."
The longest-serving Peace Corps Director, Loret Miller Ruppe, and USAID Director M. Peter McPherson sign a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Small Project Assistance (SPA) program. Since then, the SPA program has supported small, community-initiated grants and has facilitated technical assistance and training activities. Today, SPA funds activities in over 40 Peace Corps posts.
Peace Corps becomes an independent federal agency and is no longer a part of ACTION.
Peace Corps closes its post in Afghanistan. The Peace Corps entered Afghanistan in 1962 and 1,652 Volunteers served in the country until the program ended.
Carolyn Robertson Payton is appointed Peace Corps Director by President Jimmy Carter. She is the first female and the first African American to be Peace Corps Director.
Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, a Volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 1966 to 1968, and Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts, a Volunteer in Ethiopia from 1962 to 1964, are the first returned Peace Corps Volunteers elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. They both go on to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Photo: Christopher Dodd in the Dominican Republic
Graphic Designer David Battle wins a poster contest and his artwork is then used by Bradbury Thompson of Riverside, Conn. to create the stamp used for Peace Corps in commemoration of the agency's 10th anniversary in 1971. The design was then used as the basis for the Peace Corps logo. Peace Corps 10th Anniversary Stamp issued Feb. 11, 1972
With Executive Order 11603, President Nixon folds the Peace Corps and several other service programs into a new federal volunteer agency called ACTION. The Peace Corps’ original Congressional mandate, however, remains unchanged.
Peter Max Designs Peace Corps Poster
A Peace Corps Public Service Announcement has a picture of a palm of a hand and the caption reads: "This is your life line. If you're not doing something with your life, it doesn't matter how long it is." It was prepared by Young and Rubicam, Inc., in conjunction with the Ad Council.
Peace Corps PSA based on the 1967 classic "The Graduate"
Lillian Carter, the mother of President Jimmy Carter, departs for Peace Corps service at the age of 68 as a public health Volunteer in India.
More than 15,000 trainees and Volunteers are serving in the field. Historically, this is the highest number of Peace Corps Volunteers.
Norman Rockwell travels to Ethiopia on assignment for Look Magazine to depict Peace Corps volunteers. "The Peace Corps (J.F.K.'s Bold Legacy)" appeared in Look Magazine on June 14, 1966.
National Geographic magazine features Peace Corps Volunteers on its cover.
The Peace Corps Partnership Program is started to provide a link between U.S. contributors and requests for project assistance from overseas. For more information on the Peace Corps Partnership Program visit http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate
Programs begin in 28 host countries: Afghanistan, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, Iran, Jamaica, Liberia, Malaysia, Nepal, Niger, Peru, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Senegal, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, and Venezuela. As of June 30, 2,816 Volunteers are in the field. (1962)
500+ Peace Corps Volunteers are serving in nine host countries: Chile, Colombia, Ghana, India, Nigeria, the Philippines, St. Lucia, Tanzania, and Pakistan. An additional 200+ Americans are in training in the United States.
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