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

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.

He didn’t ask my name, or where I was from; he just wanted to thank me for what that volunteer had done for his community so many years before. That is the legacy of the Peace Corps—it’s not about the individual achievements or accomplishments RPCVs make, but the way our experiences link together to tell a story that a country can be proud of.

That’s why I ask you to join me in supporting Peace Corps Park with a generous donation: to stand up and tell our story of peace and partnership with an inspiring and permanent presence in our nation’s capital.

As one of the more than 240,000 returned Peace Corps Volunteers who have served in over 142 countries around the globe in the past six decades, being part of this group is, and will always be, the proudest line on my résumé.

President Kennedy saw a nation that was the best version of itself—a place that found power not only in strength, but in justice and in decency. And the impacts of Peace Corps Volunteers resonate especially loudly at this moment in time, when once again we are engaged in a battle for the identity of our country.

That is the opportunity that Peace Corps Park gives us: To inspire people with the idea behind a bold civic experiment—one about more than just security or diplomacy, but about our character as a nation. 

So, let’s be the country that gave the world the Peace Corps. A country that refuses to set anything less than a high-water mark for human rights. A country that sees dignity in diversity, one that keeps its promises. A country that is not just great but truly good.

Thank you for your support and partnership,

Joe Kennedy III

Board Director, Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation
U.S. Representative (Mass. 4th District, 2013-2021)
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Dominican Republic (2004-06)