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. I know from my own personal experience the transformational impact that Peace Corps volunteers can make, and I sincerely believe that the Peace Corps is and can be the greatest organization dedicated to promoting global solidarity at the people-to-people level. 

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.

The Peace Corps is a powerful idea. It 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 from observing, from a place of total immersion, how to fix things abroad that also needed fixing back home. Our nation is stronger for it.

We are excited to announce that the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) approved the design for Peace Corps Park, the final regulatory hurdle after approvals from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the National Park Service in October.

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.

We are thrilled and honored this month to announce a $500,000 contribution from the CesTRA Butner Family Foundation and its founder “Ces” Butner, an entrepreneur and philanthropist based in Oakland, California.

Representing an effort 10 years in the making since the project received Congressional authorization, these critical stakeholders in the final approval process have given us the green light to build this lasting symbol to values of service and partnership in Washington, D.C. The National Capital Planning Commission comes next, and we expect to secure their approval by the end of the year.

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.

It is with a heavy heart that the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation announces the passing of our President, Roger K. Lewis, who died on Wednesday at his home in Washington, D.C. after undergoing a medical procedure. He was 83, and is survived by his wife Ellen, their son Kevin and his wife, and four granddaughters.

Already, the Park is meeting its goal of uniting the many groups that make up the Peace Corps and broader volunteer service community in planting a flag in the nation’s capital. With your continued support, Peace Corps Park will help raise the profile of the Peace Corps itself, and its mission to create a more peaceful world through friendship, partnership and understanding.