September Newsletter: Peace Corps Community Leading the Way
Dear Supporters,
Getting the word out about Peace Corps Park means getting out into the community, and I’ve just returned from back-to-back trips in different directions from Washington, D.C.—one to the Northeast, then another to the Southwest. Aside from meeting with some amazing folks in the Peace Corps community, what made these trips especially enjoyable was that I was able to combine them with one of my other passions: Aviation.
I’ve been flying airplanes as a private pilot since 1985 and found there’s no better way to rationalize flying than to “drop in” somewhere on behalf of the Peace Corps Foundation. Whether that means flying up the Hudson River and across Long Island, with stops in Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard to join returned volunteers for a gathering on Cape Cod or logging 24 hours of roundtrip flying from Kansas City to the Grand Canyon to visit with Peace Corps friends and supporters in Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, it’s a fabulous way to see the country and engage with our supporters.
Of course, the many complexities of planning a safe and successful multi-city flight–the intended flight path, the expected resources required, the unpredictable issues with weather, air traffic control, technical problems–mean there’s nothing quite like being “on final approach” near the end of a long journey.
For Peace Corps Park, we “have the field in sight” – not yet on final approach, but getting closer to our destination. We are confident that “the powers that be” will give their approval to Peace Corps Park’s final design in October, and as we approach this pivotal moment, we reach out to all of you–and your networks–to join the campaign to raise the remaining funds needed to put the first shovel in the ground.
By supporting the Peace Corps Foundation, you provide the vision, inspiration, and dedication to plan and carry forward this unprecedented landmark initiative.
We can’t do it without you.
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
PS: There are many ways to give to the Peace Corps Foundation in support of Peace Corps Park. See details on our website here.
It Takes a Village
Since the founding of the Peace Corps in 1961, volunteer service has resonated loudly outside of the population of people who have answered the call to dedicate two years of their lives to partner with communities around the world. It remains the strongest brand in volunteerism and even those who may not have felt the pull to travel so far from home find identity in its message of community service and grassroots partnership. Returned volunteers - who end up in all sectors of life, are ambassadors for these values, and many devote themselves to a lifetime of service.
From its inception, Peace Corps Park has been a community-driven vision that has emerged as the flagship initiative of the Peace Corps community, embodying the “third goal” of the Peace Corps, to help Americans better understand the world’s cultures. Telling the “rest of America’s story” of friendship, partnership, and peace–beyond the Peace Corps echo chamber–has long been a priority of those who have served and who value service.
After the Peace Corps Foundation's founding in 2002 by Kevin Quigley and Susan Flaherty, it took years of advocacy in Congress from thousands of returned Peace Corps Volunteers, former Peace Corps staff, family, friends and supporters of the Peace Corps to pass bipartisan legislation in 2014 authorizing a commemorative work in Washington, D.C. There is no place more symbolic and more impactful to share our message than on the piece of federal land we have secured, steps from the U.S. Capitol and the National Mall that welcomes more than 25 million visitors each year.
Across the country, grassroots groups agree. They continue to organize and mobilize to build awareness of Peace Corps Park and to lend their voices to this landmark initiative, and the project is elevated by their support.
Many, including Friends of Korea, RPCVs of New Jersey, Friends of Nigeria, South Florida RPCVs, Charlotte Area Peace Corps Association, Inland Northwest Peace Corps Association, Sacramento Peace Corps Volunteers, the original Colombia I cohort and Tanganyika I and II are raising funds or have made financial grants to help make Peace Corps Park a reality. RPCV groups at the Department of Interior and the National Park Service have partnered with us to raise awareness, conceptualize the educational programming, and define a vision for their participation in the Foundation’s operation of the Park into the future.
The volunteers of Colombia I at their Peace Corps training at Rutgers University in 1961
The most recent campaign to launch, endorsed by Congressman Sam Farr and the Northern California Peace Corps Association, is a great example of the momentum we are building to meet our target of groundbreaking next year, which would allow us to formally dedicate and open the Park in 2026 for the 65th anniversary of the creation of the Peace Corps.
We are honored to have also received meaningful support from the loved ones who have made donations in memory of those they have lost. The families of Jerry McMahon and of Stephen Schilling have ensured that their loved ones’ legacy is commemorated through Peace Corps Park.
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.
Design Spotlight: Giving Shape to Water
Public works like Peace Corps Park, which will join the ranks of the National Park Service’s portfolio of commemorative installations in the nation’s capital, have a high bar to meet in both innovation and artistic expression. That was only one of the motivations to partner with renowned artist Larry Kirkland and his dream team of specialists in stone carving, landscaping, and managing the complexity of engineering public spaces like ours. Last month, we highlighted the team’s approach to representing the world’s continents in the map’s central plaza. This month, we look at water.
To maintain the symbolism of one connected world, Kirkland and his team have focused on using different textures and finishes to separate features, rather than inlaid borders or different types of granite. As we noted last month, textured pavers must be accessible for people using wheelchairs and other mobility aids and must not be dangerous for people walking in heels. On top of that, they must do everything they can to deter skateboarding.
A rendering of the plaza at Peace Corps Park shows textured granite pavers intended to represent the world's oceans.
Kirkland’s solution was inspired by work in other media. “I have seen images of wooden paneling that had been treated with an adze that I liked,” he said, referencing the organic pattern that emerges when carving away bits of the material’s surface. He shared the concept with his fabrication partner, who turned it into a 3-D pattern that their machinery can apply to the granite.
“We want something evocative of the water, but comfortable enough for people in high heels - at least as much as other surfaces in DC, like brick sidewalks and cobblestones,” he says. “It’s of course easier to use existing pavers but we wanted something new.”
With various granite samples carved at different depths, the end result is under review by our partners at the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, the National Capital Planning Commission and the National Park Service, whose approval will mark the final milestone (other than fundraising) in preparing Peace Corps Park for its groundbreaking next year.
Fundraising Update
We continue to make progress toward our goal of $10 million, with more than $4.2 million raised since our campaign began. We gratefully acknowledge the following donors, who have made generous new contributions and/or pledges since August 29, 2024:
See our growing list of cumulative gifts to the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation!
$25,000 - $49,999
Elena Russell*
$10,000 - $24,999
Dr. Steven W. Mackie*
$5,000 - $9,999
Friends of Abby Rosenstein*
Northern California Peace Corps Association
Sue Louise Ward*
$1,000 - $2,499
Edward (Ted) Heid
Mickie M. Lee-Merslich
Leo K. Monaghan
James Ramakka
Other gifts to $999
America's Charities*
Charities Aid Foundation of America
Linda and Gerry Ashmore
Laurence Del Rae
Marilyn Douglas
Phyllis Hammond
Treffle LaFleche
* New gift in addition to prior gift
PEACE CORPS PARK AMBASSADORS
(Donors making recurring monthly contributions of any size)
Anthony Carroll
Linda Barnett
Matthew Baysden
Ellen Davis-Zapata
Elizabeth Downes
Greg Emerson
John Feighery
Peter Hofman
Ann Hopkins
Nancy Kelly
Laura Kettel Khan
Phil Lopes
Cynda McMahon
Marty Mueller
Jessica Rogers
John Sommerhauser
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 your social media platform of choice!
Follow us on any of the following networks, and re-share our posts to help raise awareness among your own community.
@PeaceCorpsPark on Instagram
@PeaceCorpsPark on Facebook
@PeaceCorpsPark on LinkedIn
@PeaceCorpsPark on Twitter / X
Connect with us in person
Anyone who knows me knows that I love talking about Peace Corps Park, about my experience as a volunteer in Guatemala, and about any of the exciting projects currently underway in the Peace Corps community, and I’d love to talk about it with you! I’m constantly traveling–whether meeting with key stakeholders around the country or flying my friends or loved ones around in my plane–and am always happy to add a new stop onto my itinerary. Reply to this email and let me know if you’d like to arrange a meetup!
Up next:
Sept. 30-Oct. 3 Quebec City: Sierra Leone I Reunion
Oct 9 Washington, D.C. - 250 & Beyond Service Symposium
Oct 16-20: Washington, D.C. - Malawi V Reunion
Oct 18-21: Bethesda, MD - India VIII Reunion
Oct 28: Washington, DC - Brazil Reunion
Nov 20-25: Eastern Pennsylvania
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
