PEACE CORPS IN THE 21 ST CENTURY: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

68For many, the image of the organization ended in the 1970s. The image of thePeace Corps needs to be updated. With a new campaign, very young children will growup knowing the Peace Corps, leading to future volunteers. One of the most effectivepublic relations campaigns aimed at children is the Paul Cloverdale World Wise SchoolsProgram. This program pairs a volunteer with an American school teacher. Theorganization pays for postage stamps to encourage communication between the schoolstudents and the volunteer. Volunteers are encouraged to send letters, and teachers areencouraged to use the volunteer’s experience for classroom lessons, such as geography,language, and culture.Peace Corps’ campaigning focuses on baby boomers by reminding them that it isstill around. This targets the baby boomers because they remember the Peace Corps.These baby boomers likely have friends and relatives who entered the organization asvolunteers years ago. This is a highly important link between these fifty-somethingadults and the organization as it is today. Nostalgia is a powerful tool that has greatrecruitment potential. Some of the media ads analyzed in Chapter Three respond directlyto this ideal.As long as the American public’s interest in service organizations is shifting,organizations like the Peace Corps will have to become more recruitment savvy.Recruitment rhetoric that includes the elements of adventure and personal growth is themost strategic way to appeal to today’s American public. The Peace Corps hasrecognized this consciousness shift and has invested in its web site as a major recruitmenttool. Along with the web site, the organization employs persuasive recruitment imagesand has developed a polished media campaign. In the following chapter, the visual