February Newsletter: Now is the time to show our strength in unity

February 28, 2025

February Newsletter: Now is the time to show our strength in unity

Dear Supporters,

One thing I have always appreciated about the Peace Corps community is how the values that unite us go deeper than any that could divide us. President John F. Kennedy referred to “our great common cause” of solidarity and global partnership as the path to world peace, and the Peace Corps was an embodiment of that vision.

Today, our nation’s longtime commitment to that common cause is being severely tested, and our individual and collective challenge as a community is to strengthen our dedication to promoting peace and improving the human condition for people everywhere.

Peace Corps Park represents a cornerstone of this commitment, and we are resolute in our efforts to enshrine our shared values of service and partnership into the bedrock of our nation’s capital.

Everyone who contributes to the Park is investing in a project that represents the best of America, one that symbolizes the ideals and values of Peace Corps service: That we are stronger when we work together, and that it’s better to be friends than enemies. It represents an historic past – JFK’s bold vision for a nation under threat – and a hopeful future. We are writing the story of our nation in Washington, D.C., and building a legacy to inspire future generations to serve.

The time is now to build this lasting symbol of hope and solidarity, and we invite you to join our community of supporters, whose generosity has helped us achieve all of our design and planning milestones so far. Every contribution makes a difference, and I can’t think of a better community of difference-makers to partner with in this important project.

Yours in service,

Glenn A. Blumhorst
Chief Advancement Officer
Peace Corps Foundation

President and CEO, National Peace Corps Association (2013-22)
RPCV Guatemala (1988-91)

GBlumhorst@PeaceCorpsCommemorative.org

An audience with Peace Corps’ new CEO

PCCF Chief Advancement Officer Glenn Blumhorst recently accepted an invitation to meet with the Peace Corps’ new Chief Executive Officer Allison Greene at the agency’s Washington, D.C. headquarters to learn about our project.

CEO Greene, the Acting Director of the agency, expressed her support for Peace Corps Park and underscored its potential to inspire and motivate future generations to serve. The conversation also included a discussion of plans for the Park's digital companion, which will tell the Peace Corps story and remind all Americans that our shared values of compassion and partnership are a vital, enduring part of America’s ethos and history.

While Greene’s focus as Acting Director is to help the agency and its programs transition to the priorities of the new Administration, she shared the positive news that Volunteer application rates have been increasing in the new year, a trend that we all hope will continue.

New exhibit puts Peace Corps on display

Our partners at the Museum of the Peace Corps Experience celebrated the opening of a new exhibit hosted at the International Peace Museum in Dayton, Ohio last month. Ubuntu in Action: Exploring the Peace Corps and Shared Humanity features artifacts, photographs, videos, and interactive exhibits representing the many facets of Peace Corps life.

The centerpiece of the collection, Patchwork of Peace (1990), is a nearly 30-foot-long community quilt made from individual panels that narrate a volunteer’s experience with fabrics and messages from around the world. The massive work is a living tapestry of collective memory and cultural expression, and a powerful embodiment of social cohesion that has resonated loudly with the exhibit’s visitors.

The Museum team marked the opening with an event on January 31 and are excited to receive anyone in the Dayton area throughout the duration of the show, which is scheduled to run until April 27.

An image of Patchwork of Peace at the Ubuntu in Action exhibit

Senator Chris Dodd joins advisory board

The Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation’s Advisory Board serves as a champion for Peace Corps Park and a valuable source of strategic insight. Members provide their professional expertise, diverse knowledge of community perspectives, connections to local, national, and international resources and many other forms of assistance. This month, we are honored to welcome Senator Chris Dodd to our team. See the full list of Advisory Board members on our website.

Senator Chris Dodd, who served 36 years in Congress representing the state of Connecticut, was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 1966 to 1968. Like so many other volunteers, he worked in a rural community development program in the village of Benito Monción.

After returning to the United States from the Peace Corps, Chris Dodd served in the Army Reserves and received his law degree.

He first ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974 and was reelected twice before winning a seat in the Senate in 1980, representing Connecticut for five consecutive terms.

During his three decades in the Senate, Dodd made a legislative impact that continues to affect the lives of millions of Americans. Among others, he authored the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Act for Better Child Care, the Help America Vote Act, and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Please join us in welcoming Senator Dodd to the team; we are honored to have his leadership.

Fundraising Update

With contributions from diverse supporters connected to the Peace Corps community, we are inspired by the coalition of support that this project has mobilized so far. This month we highlight both the group and individual donations that continue to propel this campaign, and invite everyone in our audience – and the friends and family you mobilize on our behalf – to join us in accelerating our fundraising and bring us ever closer to breaking ground.

RPCV Group Campaigns

At the center of our effort to build this lasting symbol of Peace Corps values is the generous and passionate community of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers that are making it possible. We have said that this project is of and by the many people who have been directly touched by the Peace Corps experience, and organized RPCV groups continue to rise to the challenge to give Peace Corps Park a true foundation of grassroots support.

The Foundation is happy to welcome both the San Diego Peace Corps Association and Friends of Malaysia to the list of RPCV groups supporting Peace Corps Park in Washington, D.C. with dedicated fundraising campaigns, and we thank all of the RPCV groups whose combined efforts have raised more than $75,000 so far:

Colombia I $18,233

Northern California Peace Corps Association $12,057

Colombia VIII $7,353

Friends of Malaysia $7,185

Colombia II $6,250

Colombia XIII $5,000

Friends of Korea $5,000

Guatemala III $4,250

Colombia III $3,603

India VIII $2,973

Guatemala VII $2,500

Venezuela UCD II $2,475

Friends of Nigeria $1,000

RPCVs of South Florida $1,000

Kentucky Peace Corps Association $1,000

Sacramento Valley RPCVs $300

Inland Northwest Peace Corps Association $100

Tanganyika I & II $75

Charlotte Area Peace Corps Association $50

If your group would like to partner on a fundraising campaign, or to support Peace Corps Park in any other way, connect with Ari Richard at arichard@peacecorpscommemorative.org to discuss further.

Individual Donations

We gratefully acknowledge the following donors, who have made generous new contributions or pledges since January 26, 2025:

See our growing list of cumulative gifts to the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation

* New gift in addition to prior gift

$50,000 - $99,999

Eleanor R. Lewis in memory of Roger K. Lewis*

$20,000 - $49,999

John Hoffman*

$10,000 - $19,999

Angene H. and Jack A. Wilson*

$5,000 - $9,999

Randolph Anthony Adams

$2,500 - $4,999

Kay and Kevin Dixon

$1,000 - $2,499

John and Jennifer Bost*
Tom and Marylu Gouttierre
Christine Hadsel
Klaus Heimburg
Charles Hirschman
Renice Jones
Nanette and David Magnani*
Patricia Matisz Smith
Robert A. Taft

Other gifts to $999

America’s Charities*
Carol Belanger
Harvey Botzman
Dona Boyce-Manoukian
Bill Britt
Rhoda K. Brooks
Michael Bruinooge
Julie Castillo
Charities Aid Foundation of America
Anne Arnold Dachs
Tom DeFayette
James DeHarpporte
John Dixon
Richard Drum
Catherine Fox
James Freeman*
Kay Frishman
Brian Gray
Michael Hayes*
Ann Hopkins
Rita Hurley-Chiles
Thomas Kajer
Mary Klein
Elizabeth Kok
Holly Larner
Barbara Lester
Frances Li
Anthony Lofaso

Nicholi Maillard
Jack McCord
Ken Millett
David Motoki
Paul Murphy
Donella Novak
PayPal Giving Fund
Dan Peed
Michael Pinkston*
Eric Prosnier
Kara Lynn Rankin
Janet Bente Romero
Betty Anne Scalise
Nancy Slade
Mallory Smith
Frances Smithwaite
Joan Swetz
Doris Vincent
Patricia Waak*
James Warren
Charles Wolf
James Wolter
Deborah Zavracky

PEACE CORPS PARK AMBASSADORS

(Donors making recurring monthly contributions of any size)

Sue Aiken
Linda Barnett
Matthew Baysden
Rick and Karline Bird
Anthony Carroll
Ellen Davis-Zapata
Elizabeth Downes
Greg Emerson
John Feighery
G David Hicks
Peter Hofman
Ann Hopkins
Laura Kettel Khan
Roni Lerner Love
Deborah Manget
Cynda H. McMahon
Marty Mueller
Bill Piatt
Jessica Rogers
Robert Smythe
John Sommerhauser
Penny Taylor
Kathleen Williams-Ging
Darrel Young

Connect with us on social media

Whether or not you’ve been able to support the project with a donation, an easy way to amplify your impact is to give us a boost on social media. Follow us and re-share our posts to help raise awareness in your network!

@PeaceCorpsPark on Instagram | @PeaceCorpsPark on Facebook | @PeaceCorpsPark on LinkedIn

Where is Glenn?

Chief Advancement Officer Glenn Blumhorst continues to travel the country meeting with Peace Corps community stakeholders across all 50 states. Whether you or your group is visiting our nation’s capital or hosting a meeting in your area, he is always happy to share our vision for Peace Corps Park in person, and would love to connect with you. Reply to this email and let Glenn know if you’d like to arrange a meetup! Up next:

Feb 28 Palm Beach, FL: RPCV Luncheon
Mar 2 Miami, FL: South Florida RPCV Dinner
Mar 8-11 Northern California
Mar 12-17 Southern California
Apr 11* Washington, D.C.: Cherry Blossom Donor Recognition Reception (date to be confirmed)
May 2-4 Albuquerque, NM: Bolivia All Staff and Volunteer Reunion (More info here)

DONATE

PeaceCorpsCommemorative.org

PEACE CORPS COMMEMORATIVE FOUNDATION
Compassion Generosity Perseverance

Please note our new preferred mailing address:
5636 Connecticut Avenue, NW Ste 42143
Washington, DC 20015

The Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation is the trade name of the Peace Corps Foundation,
a District of Columbia 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
EIN: 01-0554700

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March Newsletter: Updated timeline: The path to Peace Corps Park takes shape

March 27, 2025

March Newsletter: Updated timeline: The path to Peace Corps Park takes shape

January Newsletter: Our values need champions, and your voice matters

January 28, 2025

January Newsletter: Our values need champions, and your voice matters

Joe Kennedy III for Peace Corps Park: Peace Corps Park is about our identity as a nation

December 30, 2024

Dear Supporters, When I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic, trying to keep as low a profile as a six-foot tall red-headed American guy can, I remember a moment on a crowded bus when I felt a tap on my shoulder. A local man asked me, “are you from the Peace Corps?”, and told me that as a boy, his village didn’t have water until a Peace Corps Volunteer helped install a clean water system. He had never gotten the chance to thank that young man.

Kul Chandra Gautam for Peace Corps Park: Support the mission of peace and solidarity in Washington D.C. and the world

December 23, 2024

Dear Supporters, I write to you today as one of the thousands of Nepalis–and perhaps millions of people around the world–whose lives have been touched and transformed by their association with the Peace Corps.

Hon. Carrie Hessler-Radelet for Peace Corps Park: America needs Peace Corps Park, now more than ever

December 17, 2024

Dear Supporters, From my experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Samoa to my term as director of the Peace Corps, I have seen how lives are changed by people working together, through service, to further the cause of peace. That service is an important part of our nation's legacy. Americans have always stood for democracy, justice, equality, and service. The belief that what unites us is so much greater than that which divides us. The knowledge that, through service, we can create a better world together. These are the values that continue to draw people to our shores and reflect the best of America. Peace Corps Park is a space where stories of service will come alive—a place where we will celebrate the uniquely American spirit of Peace Corps dedicated to fostering understanding and building bridges of peace. It is a place where anyone, regardless of culture, race, faith, ethnicity, or background, can reflect upon the idea that we are all part of one human family. Peace Corps Park is more than a place on the map. It is a living, breathing testament to America’s compassion and perseverance in service of humanity. Please join me in ensuring that this symbol of the American idea becomes a reality, with a donation that will ensure future generations are inspired by the ideas that inspire us. Your generosity is not just an investment in a park; it is an investment in hope and the idea that, even in times of division, we can find common ground. That even when challenges feel insurmountable, we can persevere. That together, through compassion and action, we can create a world that reflects the very best of who we are. Many thanks for your support, and for your faith in the power of peace through service. Let’s work together to make our vision a reality. With warm regards,

Hon. Sam Farr for Peace Corps Park: Let’s give peace a permanent space in Washington, D.C.

December 10, 2024

Dear Supporters, When I was in Congress, they called me “Mr. Peace Corps” for my consistent advocacy on behalf of the agency that inspired me to 44 years of service in elected office. My two years in a poor barrio in Medellin, Colombia taught me how to listen to the needs of the people living around me to find real solutions to the problems felt by people in poverty everywhere. I learned that if someone has a safe place to sleep, access to education, and quality health care, then they have a chance in this world, and that philosophy has animated my lifelong commitment to service here in the U.S. The Peace Corps is a powerful idea that remains as bold as it was almost 65 years ago, and that boldness deserves a place among the monuments and memorials that decorate the landscape in Washington, D.C. Like me, tens of thousands of Peace Corps Volunteers learned how to hear, from listening in a foreign language and observing, from a place of total immersion, how to fix things abroad that also needed fixing back home. Our nation is stronger for it. Peace Corps Park is a ray of sunshine in a divided world, representing our belief that idealism gets results. Please join us in ensuring the Park becomes a reality at a time when we need to advocate loudly for our values . “Yes we can!” John F. Kennedy believed that telling the Peace Corps story back home was a lifetime commitment. I’m sure if he were alive now he’d still be saying, “Ask not what Peace Corps Park can do for you, but what you can do for the Park”. We are asking our community of supporters to help us raise the remaining amount needed to put shovels in the ground and to be part of the team that made this permanent symbol of peace and partnership in our nation’s capital a reality. Thank you. Give peace a chance. Sam Farr Peace Corps Colombia (1964-66) U.S. Congress, D-Carmel, Calif. (1993-2017)

Invest in the future with Peace Corps Park on Giving Tuesday

December 3, 2024

Invest in the future with Peace Corps Park on Giving Tuesday Dear Supporters, Every year, the season of thanks encourages us to reflect on the things we are grateful for, but also to think about the future and the world we want to see. For Peace Corps Park, we are so grateful for the achievements of the past year–both in inspiring major donors like Jacqueline Mars and Ces Butner and in securing design approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts–and profoundly excited about the future. With more than $5 million already raised, the only real hurdle in this journey toward groundbreaking is raising the remaining funds for this meaningful project. On this Giving Tuesday, we invite everyone to make Peace Corps Park a central part of your giving plans with a tax deductible donation . There are many ways to give , and all of them will help bring Peace Corps Park to life in our nation’s capital. Most of all, your generosity will help us match Ces Butner's $500,000 gift before the end of the year and show how this community can rise to meet his challenge. At its most impactful, your charitable giving is an investment in the future: A way of saying “the world would be a better place if more people lived these values.” And while Peace Corps Park will commemorate the bold vision that JFK laid out when creating the Peace Corps almost 65 years ago, our mission is decidedly forward-looking. We believe the world is a better place when people from different walks of life partner with each other in service of a shared future, and that creating a permanent beacon to these ideals in our nation’s capital is a critical part of telling America’s story to the more than 25 million people who visit the National Mall every year.

November Newsletter: Announcing a major gift in this season of thanks

November 26, 2024

November Newsletter: Announcing a major gift in this season of thanks

October Newsletter: Final design approved by the CFA

October 24, 2024

September Newsletter: Peace Corps Community Leading the Way

News: Design approvals mark major milestone for Peace Corps Park

October 21, 2024

It is with great pleasure that we announce a major step forward in the timeline of Peace Corps Park, with final design approval by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts at its last meeting on October 17. The Foundation has been working tirelessly with the CFA since the site selection process in 2014 to refine our design approach, using creative problem solving to address feedback around the symbolic representation of the world map in the Park’s central plaza, the granite benches encircling it, the inscriptions carved into the stone, and many other aspects of the Park’s concept. Our expert design and landscaping team, led by Larry Kirkland and Michael Vergason, made countless refinements to the plan to ensure the best possible artistic and practical expression, some of which we have shared in our recent newsletters . We are thrilled to see the fruits of this collaboration, and are looking forward to finalizing the engineering plan to make the design a reality. Another critical stakeholder in this process is the National Park Service, which will maintain the Park in perpetuity once built. On Friday, October 18, the NPS issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for Peace Corps Park, a precursor to obtaining final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which is expected to review the plan in its December meeting. With the Park’s design process in its final stages, we turn our attention to raising the $5 million needed to put shovels in the ground, and look to our generous and dedicated community to get us to groundbreaking and make Peace Corps Park a reality!