A Call to Peace - Civic Enterprises

A Call to PeacePerspectives of Volunteers on the Peace Corps at 50September 2011On the 50th Anniversary of the Peace CorpsA report by Civic Enterprises and the National Peace Corps Associationin partnership with Peter D. Hart Research AssociatesBy: John M. Bridgeland, Harris Wofford, Kevin F.F. Quigley, Jessica A. Milano

“ TO BE A PATRIOT IN THIS SENSE MEANSTO LIVE OUT OF A RECOGNITION THAT ONEIS A MEMBER OF A PARTICULAR CULTUREAND SOCIETY, BUT SO ARE ALL OTHERHUMAN BEINGS, AND THEIR KINSHIP ANDBONDS—THEIR SACRED PLACES—AREAS IMPORTANT TO THEM AS OURS ARETO US. LOVE OF COUNTRY, YES. LOYALTYTO COUNTRY, YES; BUT WE CARRY TWOPASSPORTS—ONE STAMPED AMERICAN,T H E O T H E R H U M A N B E I N G . W E A R EMEMBERS OF THE SAME GREAT RACE, BUTOUR TENTS ARE PITCHED ON DIFFERENTGROUND, AND SO WE LOOK OUT ON THEWORLD FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES. THIS HASVERY PRACTICAL RESULTS FOR THE WAYONE WORKS. YOU GO ABROAD CAUTIOUSABOUT THE HELP YOU CAN BE TO OTHERS;THE ONLY CHANGE THAT REALLY MATTERSIS THE ONE THAT MUST COME FROM WITHIN.BUT YOU GO BECAUSE THE WORLD ISYOUR HOME.” —Bill Moyers, Remarks at the 25th Anniversary of the Peace Corps

TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3A Call to Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9The Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9The Three Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Peace as the Overriding Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Goal 1: Helping people of interested countries meet their needsfor trained men and women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Goal 2: Helping promote a better understanding of Americans onthe part of peoples served . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Goal 3: Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans . 18A Transformative Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Reasons for Joining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Who Serves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Where Volunteers Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20What Volunteers Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Safety and Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Unfinished Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Toward a Stronger Peace Corps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Our Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Appendix: Voices of the First Returned Peace Corps Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Acknowledgments and Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 20111|

INTRODUCTIONTHE PEACE CORPS IS A STORY OF CONTRASTS. It emerged late in the 1960 presidentialcampaign, yet ignited one of the most instantaneous responses. It promoted a spirit of youthful idealism,while generating controversy among seasoned policymakers. It was a risky experiment, but held the promiseof transforming how millions of people abroad viewed America and how hundreds of thousands of Americansengaged in the world. It is the most enduring legacy of a short-lived presidency.Fifty years later, the story of the Peace Corps continues to be told and retold through many books and articlesand even a YouTube channel. We believe, however, that the most important storytellers are the voices of ReturnedPeace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) themselves, speaking over the decades since its formation in 1961 to the presentday. When we discovered that there had never been a large-scale, independent, nationally representative survey ofthe more than 200,000 volunteers who experienced the Peace Corps, we set out to listen to these individuals whohelped shape and define the organization’s first 50 years.On the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, Civic Enterprises, the National Peace Corps Association and Peter D.Hart Research Associates collaborated to survey 11,138 RPCVs, as they prefer to be known. We wanted to gaininsights into what inspired them to join; what their experiences were like; how well they believed they advancedthe three Peace Corps goals; the influence their experiences had on their career choices, perspectives on America,and engagement with the world; and their ideas to make the Peace Corps and international volunteering evenmore relevant and effective in the next 50 years.Together with this unique look into the experiences of RPCVs, we interviewed key leaders from before the PeaceCorps’ founding to the present day, including former directors, public officials, historians, supporters, critics, and thetwo students at the University of Michigan who heard John Kennedy’s challenge and drafted the petition nearly athousand students signed in response to his call to service. We also conducted a review of many documents, books,articles, and stories related to the Peace Corps.As we look forward to the next 50 years, it is time to examine what we have learned from the Peace Corps inits first half-century and trust the voices of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers themselves to be guides to thePeace Corps’ future. In the pages that follow, we share their perspectives to better understand America’s return oninvestment in this extraordinary experiment that continues to inspire thousands of Americans to respond to a callto service in an increasingly challenging world.“T O BE A PATRIOT IN THIS SENSE MEANS TO LIVE OUT OFA RECOGNITION THAT ONE IS A MEMBER OF APARTICULARCULTURE AND SOCIETY, BUT SO ARE ALL OTHER HUMAN BEINGS,AND THEIR KINSHIP AND BONDS—THEIR SACRED PLACES—ARE AS IMPORTANT TO THEM AS OURS ARE TO US. LOVE OFCOUNTRY, YES. LOYALTY TO COUNTRY, YES; BUT WE CARRYTWO PASSPORTS—ONE STAMPED AMERICAN, THE OTHERHUMAN BEING. WE ARE MEMBERS OF THE SAME GREAT RACE,BUT OUR TENTS ARE PITCHED ON DIFFERENT GROUND, AND SOWE LOOK OUT ON THE WORLD FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES. THISHAS VERY PRACTICAL RESULTS FOR THE WAY ONE WORKS.YOU GO ABROAD CAUTIOUS ABOUT THE HELP YOU CAN BE TOOTHERS; THE ONLY CHANGE THAT REALLY MATTERS IS THE ONETHAT MUST COME FROM WITHIN. BUT YOU GO BECAUSE THEWORLD IS YOUR HOME.”—Bill Moyers, Remarks at the 25th Anniversary of the Peace Corps| 2A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYTHE PEACE CORPS EXPERIENCE CHANGES MINDSETS AND LIVES. What we discoveredfrom our nationally representative survey of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers was both surprising and uplifting.The impact of the Peace Corps has been most deeply felt through the relationships and common understandingit has fostered among Americans and people from 139 countries the Peace Corps has served. Peace, more thandevelopment, has been its overriding purpose and those who have served in the Peace Corps believe they havebeen most effective in advancing the two goals related to promoting mutual understanding, while often lesseffective in meeting the need for trained men and women in host countries.Service in the Peace Corps is also a transformative,life-changing experience for the vast majority of RPCVs.Many said it shaped their life’s path and worldview,influencing their choice of career, where they lived laterin life, and even their religious and political views.Their experiences were also overwhelmingly positive.Almost all RPCVs would recommend the experience totheir children and grandchildren and the vast majorityfelt safe in the communities and countries in whichthey served.The findings in this report are even more remarkable,given that only a fraction of the original vision for thePeace Corps was ever achieved. President Kennedybelieved the Peace Corps would be truly serious wheneach year the United States was sending 100,000 ofits best and brightest volunteers overseas to serve incommunities with the greatest needs. Today, just over8,600 volunteers are serving abroad, even though manymore young Americans are eager to join the PeaceCorps and demand for volunteers by host countriesregularly outstrips supply.Of the five channels for growth of the Peace Corpsenvisioned by its founders, only one – a governmentadministered program – has been fully implemented.The original plan for four other channels for sendingPeace Corps Volunteers overseas, especially the firsttwo proposed – through existing non-governmentorganizations engaged in international serviceand through programs of colleges and universitieswith overseas programs – remain for review andconsideration as a possible additional frameworkfor how to grow the Peace Corps and ensure it staysrelevant in the next 50 years.PEACE AS THEOVERRIDING PURPOSEThe Peace Corps’ success, in living up to the high word“Peace,” can be measured by the three goals it setfor its volunteers: 1) helping people from interestedA CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011A maternal health Peace Corps Volunteer and her community partner in Benin. © Peace Corpscountries meet their need for trained men andwomen; 2) helping promote a better understanding ofAmericans on the part of peoples served; and 3) helpingpromote a better understanding of other peoples onthe part of Americans. According to RPCVs, the PeaceCorps’ impact has been most deeply felt through thesecond and third goals—through the relationshipsand common understanding it has fostered amongAmericans and people from countries around theworld—more than through the first goal of meeting theneed for trained men and women. More than eight in ten (82 percent) RPCVssaid their service was very or fairly effectivein helping promote a better understandingof Americans in the communities whereVolunteers served, with one-third reportingit was very effective. These responses wereconsistently high across all five decades of service.The numbers also were consistently high (morethan 80 percent) among those RPCVs who servedin Eastern Europe, Asia, the Pacific Region, theMiddle East and most of Africa, but slightly lower inNorth Africa (77 percent). More than 3 in 4 RPCVs3|

UNFINISHED BUSINESSPresident Kennedy’s statement that the Peace Corps would become truly serious when 100,000 Americans wereserving abroad every year should be a challenge to all of us. Today, there are only 8,600 Peace Corps Volunteersserving at any one time. Sargent Shriver’s report to the President in February 1961 laid a clear foundation formoving toward Kennedy’s goal. The vision articulated by the founders of the Peace Corps, however, was lost overthe subsequent years. We asked several questions to learn RPCVs’ views of possible ways to strengthen or reformthe Peace Corps and international volunteering to fulfill its potential in today’s complex and challenging world.RPCVs believe the Peace Corps is more relevant today. They support ways to strengthen it, and support othermeans in addition to the enhancement and expansion of the Peace Corps to increase international volunteering.Seventy-nine percent and 76 percentof RPCVs were motivated to join thePeace Corps to promote cross-culturalunderstanding and serve the U.S. in thecause of peace, respectively. Sixty-sixpercent of RPCVs believed it is moreimportant now to promote a betterunderstanding of other people on the partof Americans and 63 percent shared thisview to promote such understanding ofAmericans among people in host countries.Less than half (47 percent) believed it is moreimportant now to help people meet their need fortrained men and women. A large majority of RPCVs supportedmeasures to improve the Peace Corps and tostrengthen international volunteering, whilesupporting the Peace Corps’ basic structureand role. When considering the percentage whosupport reforms versus those who oppose them,we find the following net levels of support oropposition for the following measures:– Eighty-three percent favored recruitingmore experienced volunteers to offertechnical expertise and mentor youngvolunteers; 83 percent wanted better trainingfor greater impact; and 77 percent wantedprojects defined more clearly for greatereffectiveness and accountability;– Sixty-eight percent supported doublingthe Peace Corps to 15,000 and the samepercentage supported reciprocal programsto bring talent from other countries to theUnited States;– But 10 percent more opposed thanfavored flexible, short-term assignmentswithin the Peace Corps and 27 percent moreopposed than favored private organizationsadministering Peace Corps projects overseas;A Peace Corps Volunteer teaches his host brother about the maize that his family growsin Guatemala. ©Peace Corps– Beyond the Peace Corps itself, 70 percentfavored increasing other federally-fundedpositions for volunteers to work on issuessuch as HIV/AIDS and malaria control; 25percent more favored than opposed partneringwith other private sector programs to sendvolunteers overseas; and 16 percent morefavored than opposed more volunteers takingon shorter-term assignments through low-cost,federally-funded programs. Most RPCVs (79 percent) believed the PeaceCorps has delivered on its mission and most(65 percent) reported it has adapted at least fairlywell to the times; however, less than half (46percent) believed it has done a good job atdocumenting its effectiveness.| 6A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011

WAYS FORWARDIn anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, the ServiceWorld coalition was formeda few years ago from the Initiative on International Volunteering and Service at the BrookingsInstitution and its companion Building Bridges Coalition to better understand how the originalvision of the Peace Corps could be fulfilled. Today, the ServiceWorld coalition has more than 300 nongovernmentorganizations (NGOs), colleges and universities, corporations, and community and faith-basedinstitutions, and thousands of RPCVs and other individuals working together to advance the original vision ofPresident Kennedy, Sargent Shriver, many Democrat and Republican Presidents, and leaders of our society sincethe founding of the Peace Corps.This coalition has proposed a plan of action that isconsistent with Shriver’s original vision for the PeaceCorps and President Kennedy’s goal of 100,000Americans serving abroad every year: The Peace Corps: The Peace Corps shoulddouble its ranks to 15,000 volunteers by2015 and forge partnerships with othervolunteer-sending and internationaldevelopment organizations to maximizeimpact and leverage funding. In additionto funding these new slots, the Peace Corpsshould also strengthen current programs, lowerthe cost per volunteer, more carefully defineprojects, and document its effectiveness inmeeting the three goals. It should work to formservice partnerships with more countries ofgrowing global importance, such as Brazil, Indiaand Nigeria where there are currently no PeaceCorps Volunteers. The Peace Corps must continueto be aggressive in increasing the safety andsecurity of its Volunteers, including a timelyand compassionate response. Bills pending inCongress would codify reforms the agency hasput in place such as better staff training andprotection for whistleblowers, and would requiremore detailed crime statistics and the PeaceCorps and U.S. Department of State to formalizehow U.S. Embassy officials respond to crimesagainst Peace Corps Volunteers. Volunteers for Prosperity: Created byExecutive Order in 2003 and authorizedinto law in 2009, Volunteers for Prosperityshould expand from 43,000 to 75,000 skilledAmericans each year recruited and deployedfor flexible-term assignments through anetwork of U.S. nonprofits that work inthe developing world on urgent problems,such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, education, cleanwater, and helping entrepreneurs startlocal businesses that create new jobs. Thisincrease should occur through the expansion ofthe Volunteers for Prosperity (VfP) Serve Program,which offers modest stipends to volunteers,more than matched by individual and privatesector contributions. Global Service Fellowships: Initiated by theprivate sector to create at least 100 Global ServiceFellows each year, Global Service Fellowshipsshould be authorized into law to mobilize10,000 volunteer fellows each year for upto one-year assignments to help build thecapacity of non-profit organizations and faith-basedinstitutions working in the developing world toinnovate and solve significant global challenges.These new opportunities for international servicedirectly through experienced and tested nongovernmentorganizations will enable Americansto serve who would have much to offer but are notable or ready to enlist for the two years that thePeace Corps requires. The Global Service Fellowsshould be selected in a competitive process.Members of Congress should be able tonominate fellows from their districts andstates, similar to the nominating process forthe Military Academies. An International Social Innovation Fund: AnInternational Social Innovation Fund shouldbe created to fuel further innovation inhow Americans can have a greater impactthrough international volunteer service andincrease the capacity of local organizationsto effectively utilize their time and talents.To enhance the impact of Americans servingoverseas each year through government and nongovernmentorganizations, we propose to buildon the examples of the Volunteer Generation andSocial Innovation Funds authorized in the EdwardM. Kennedy Serve America Act.A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 20117|

After signing the law that creates the Peace Corps, President Kennedyhands the signing pen to Shriver, the first Director.Shriver leads the first group of Volunteers to meetPresident Kennedy at the White House.I HOPE YOU REMEMBER TO BELIEVE IN THINGS‘TIL YOU DIE. I HOPE YOU REMEMBER TO BEGUIDED BY BELIEFS POWERFUL ENOUGH TOCHANGE THE WORLD. I HOPE YOU REMEMBER THEEXAMPLE OF THE PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER, THEHEAD START PARENT, THE SPECIAL OLYMPICSATHLETE. THEY EACH IN THEIR OWN WAYARE WAGING PEACE. MAYBE YOU WILL EVENREMEMBER ME AND MY FAMILY—MY CHILDREN,MY WIFE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, JACKIE.REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY—OFGIVING AND RECEIVING—OF LOVE.—Sargent Shriver, Yale Class Day Speech: May 22, 1994Shriver crosses the Khyber passbetween Pakistan and Afganistan.Shriver washes his face at a water pump in Tehran, Iran.Photos courtesy of the Sargent Shriver Peace Institute.During a trip to Jerusalem, Shriver visits a refugee camp near Jericho.Shriver lands in Nepal.| 8A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011

A CALL TO PEACEThis report is not a narration of the key moments in the life of the Peace Corps over its 50 years. Many books andarticles are devoted to this history and we want to focus our attention on the perspectives of Returned Peace CorpsVolunteers (RPCVs). The beginning of the Peace Corps, however, is particularly significant in our view because itwas powered at the grassroots level, and set forth a framework that informs recommendations for the futureof the Peace Corps and international volunteering. We, therefore, take a moment to trace the roots of thePeace Corps here.The BeginningThe Peace Corps was not an original idea. DespiteTheodore Sorenson calling it “the only new proposal”candidate John F. Kennedy introduced in the1960 presidential campaign, it was not new. BothRepresentative Henry Reuss and Senator HubertHumphrey proposed the idea in the late 1950s. A bill,written by Representative Reuss, a Democrat fromWisconsin, was introduced in Congress in 1960. The billcalled for the study of a “Point Four Youth Corps,” pointfour being a reference to the fourth point in PresidentHarry Truman’s 1949 inaugural address, offeringtechnical assistance to developing nations. Congressapproved $10,000 for the study of such a corps.Senator Humphrey, who gave the Peace Corps its name,also introduced a bill in 1960 to establish an agencyand campaigned for the idea during the presidentialprimaries. His bill never came up for a vote. It wascandidate John F. Kennedy, in a rousing and impromptuspeech delivered on October 14, 1960 at 2 a.m. on thesteps of the University of Michigan to an estimatedcrowd of 10,000 students who had waited in a coldnight for him to arrive after his televised debate withRichard Nixon, who inspired a generation of studentsto answer the call to service and gave life to a buddingidea that would become his most enduring legacy.The idea for a Peace Corps took off because of astudent movement that emerged behind it. Twostudents in attendance that night, Alan and JudyGuskin, took Kennedy’s remarks to heart, leadingthem to draft a petition and collect about a thousandstudent pledges to volunteer overseas in responseto Kennedy’s challenge: “How many of you, who aregoing to be doctors, are willing to spend your days inGhana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you arewilling to work in the Foreign Service and spend yourlives traveling around the world?… on your willingnessto contribute part of your life to this country…will depend the answer whether a free society cancompete.” Two weeks later, on November 2, 1960, ina speech at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, stirred bythe student petition, Kennedy officially proposeda peace corps of talented men and women who woulddedicate themselves to the progress and peace ofdeveloping countries.Sergeant Shriver said the Peace Corps “might stillbe just an idea but for the affirmative response ofthose Michigan students.” He called it a case of“spontaneous combustion” and says the PeaceCorps thereafter tried to keep “the momentum andunbureaucratic spontaneity” of that campaign night. 3Candidate Kennedy on the steps of the University of Michigan, October 14, 1960.Photo courtesy of the University of Michigan.2 Meisler, S. (2011). When the World Calls: The Inside Story of the Peace Corps and Its First Fifty Years. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.3 Shriver, S. (1964). The Point of the Lance. Harper & Row.A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 20119|

Case Study: The First Volunteers RememberTHE STORY OF ALAN AND JUDY GUSKINAccording to Alan and Judy Guskin, the PeaceCorps began with a question. Alan recallsPresident Kennedy’s visit to the Universityof Michigan campus and his challenge toAmerican youth: “he was sort of saying, ‘whatare you going to do? What contribution areyou going to make to this world?’” Inspiredto propose an answer, Guskin and his formerwife Judy mobilized their friends and drafteda letter in a local restaurant that appeared inthe University’s Michigan Daily on October 21,1960. This letter, written on what Judy refersto as “a very historic” napkin, led to a studentpetition with some thousand signatures insupport of forming a global service initiativethat would inspire creation of the Peace Corps.News of the petition soon reached Millie Jeffrey,a University of Michigan parent, DemocraticNational Committee member, and memberof the Civil Rights Section of the KennedyCandidate Kennedy with Alan (far left) and Judy Guskin (center). Photo courtesy of theUniversity of Michigan.campaign. She organized a meeting between Kennedy and the students. “The Senator would like to see you,”Judy heard as she picked up the phone in late October 1960. The Guskins promptly organized their key colleaguesand drove to the Toledo airport tarmac to meet Kennedy. With no press around, Kennedy greeted the students andasked to see the petition. Alan recalls asking Kennedy how serious he was about the Peace Corps and Kennedyresponded, “until Tuesday we worry about the election and after that the world.”The Guskins and their supporters also had to worry about the election. Ken Boulding, a professor of economics atthe University of Michigan and an active supporter of peace issues, did not want their idea to die if Kennedy lostthe election. He advised Alan and Judy to share their proposal with the Nixon campaign, and Judy recalls Nixon’srejection of the idea -- that this “kiddie corps” demonstrated how unprepared Kennedy was to be President. .Following the election, the Guskins expanded their mission in an effort to keep Kennedy on task. They organizedand funded conferences at the University of Michigan and American University to help determine who would servein the Peace Corps, what kind of work they would do and where they would go. They attended a meeting for theSociety of International Development in Washington, D.C. where Alan remembers other attendees expressing doubtover the level of youth interest. Alan asserted that “the students are committed and they will serve.”Alan and Judy credit much of the success of the Peace Corps to the youth energy evident in the Civil RightsMovement and the increasing desire for change. At first “there was nervousness, for sure,” Judy notes. Shebelieved that the time for global citizen engagement had arrived. True to his promise on the Toledo tarmac,Kennedy signed an Executive Order creating the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961.Following the “chaotic” first summer of working at the newly formed Peace Corps, filled with piles of letters andapplications, the Guskins were selected to be Peace Corps Volunteers in Thailand. Originally offered a staff position,Judy refused because she wanted to volunteer, be “in the pool,” and experience more intimately what it meansto be a global citizen. “The world is a family,” she explained. “To be a global citizen is to give your heart, openyour heart to people, and that makes you a different person.” Judy’s goal as a teacher in Thailand was to provide a“global education” to her students. Alan says “the question is not whose culture is better,” but rather how can we“bridge the differences?”| 10A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011

KEY MOMENTS: PEACE CORPS FOUNDINGOCTOBER 14, 1960Senator Kennedy delivers impromptu speech toan estimated 10,000 students at the University ofMichigan at 2:00 a.m. asking them to serve theircountry by volunteering abroadNOVEMBER 2, 1960Senator Kennedy delivers Cow Palace speech inSan Francisco, CAImmediately following his inauguration in January1961, President Kennedy asked his brother-in law,Sargent Shriver, to lead a task force on establishing aPeace Corps. Out of a suite at the Mayflower Hotel inWashington, DC, Shriver (along with his campaign aide,soon to be the President’s special assistant for civilrights, and co-author of this report, Harris Wofford),assembled the task force and day and night they allworked together to prepare the report that would becomethe foundation for the Peace Corps.NOVEMBER 6, 1960The Guskins and other graduate students greetKennedy on the Toledo Airport tarmac and presenttheir petitionNOVEMBER 8, 1960Kennedy wins the 1960 Presidential electionFEBRUARY 24, 1961Sargent Shriver delivers Summary Report to PresidentKennedy for the creation of the Peace CorpsMARCH 1, 1961Kennedy signs Executive Order 10924 to establish apilot version of the Peace CorpsJUNE 1961Training begins at U.S. colleges and universities for thefirst round of Peace Corps VolunteersJULY 1961Assignments are planned for Chile, Colombia, Ghana,the Philippines, St. Lucia, and Tanzania28 AUGUST 1961Kennedy celebrates the first group of Peace CorpsVolunteers leaving for Ghana and Tanzania at aceremony in the White House Rose Garden30 AUGUST 1961The first group of Peace Corps Volunteers touchesdown in Accra, Ghana (they will serve as teachers)22 SEPTEMBER 1961Congress established the Peace Corps andappropriates $40 million to the agencyHarris Wofford with President Kennedy.In one month the report was done, defining the Corps’mission, goals and structure. Shriver believed speed wasof the essence in order to continue the momentum andbe able to enlist outstanding volunteers who would begraduating in the spring. “If you decide to go ahead,” hewrote in his memo to the President accompanying thereport, “we can be in business Monday morning.” 4The report was sent to President Kennedy on Friday,February 24, 1961 and on Wednesday, March 1, acting onShriver’s advice, Kennedy signed Executive Order 10924creating a temporary agency called the Peace Corps.Although Congress would not pass legislation untilSeptember 22, 1961, authorizing a permanent agency,the Peace Corps was open for business and Shriverimmediately began the dual mission of recruiting PeaceCorps Volunteers and visiting foreign heads of state whowould invite them to serve in their countries.Read “Voice of the First Returned Peace CorpsVolinteers” in the Appendix.4 Ibid.A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 201111|

The Three GoalsThe mission of the new Peace Corps would be boldand different from anything seen before. Peace CorpsVolunteers would not work for the Foreign Service or anaid agency; they would go abroad in a new capacity—to teach or build or work in the communities to whichthey were sent, serving local institutions and living withthe people they were helping.Later Harris Wofford wrote, “Some members of the taskforce insisted that Shriver and the President choosea single purpose or at least settle for a main one.Shriver found the tension between competing purposescreative, and thought it should continue. ’Peace’ wasthe overriding purpose, and the process of promotingit was necessarily complex, he said, so the Peace Corpsshould learn to live with the complexity. Finally weagreed on three propositions about the program.” 5The three goals of the Peace Corps would be tohelp the people of interested countries meet theirneed for trained workers; to help promote a betterunderstanding of Americans in the communitieswhere volunteers served; and to help promote a betterunderstanding among Americans of other cultures andpeoples. This third goal is sometimes referred to as“bringing the Peace Corps back home.”The founders of the Peace Corps thought the pathto peace and security was through the interaction ofthese three goals—a bold vision first expressed atthe height of the Cold War, and one that is relevanttoday in the fight against terrorism around the world.The creation of the Peace Corps was a commitment bythe United States to a unique new policy, to send oursons and daughters, mothers and fathers, and evengrandmothers and grandfathers to leave the comfortof their homes and serve abroad for two years inoften harsh conditions and in the service of the hostcommunities and countries.PEACE AS THEOVERRIDING PURPOSEWhile Shriver embraced the complexity of promotingpeace, the Peace Corps itself has sometimes struggledto give equal consideration to all three goals. Tocounteract the criticism that promoting a betterunderstanding of Americans around the world wasjust a public relations venture or, worse, propaganda,the Shriver report emphasized the reciprocal learningthat would occur from sending Americans abroad. Theknowledge they would bring home of other culturesand America’s role in the world would help to build acitizenry with international perspectives and interests.President Kennedy hoped it would lead to a moreinformed U.S. foreign policy, and hoped many ReturnedPeace Corps Volunteers would enter the Foreign Serviceand other forms of public service where their influencewould have direct impact on policy.“T HE PEACE CORPS IS NOT AN INSTRUMENTOF FOREIGN POLICY, BECAUSE TO MAKE IT SOWOULD ROB IT OF ITS CONTRIBUTION TOFOREIGN POLICY”—Dean Rusk, U.S. Secretary of State, 1961-1969As our survey results show, Kennedy’s hope hasbecome a reality, but on a much smaller scale than heintended. The Peace Corps has been most successful atpromoting peace through mutual understanding anda greater appreciation of both American values andforeign cultures. But the founders of the Peace Corpsalso recognized that for Peace Corps Volunteers to bewelcome in foreign countries, they must provide whatKennedy promised: “help foreign lands meet theirurgent needs for trained workers.” 6 This challenge hasbeen met less successfully as the skills of workers indeveloping countries have grown over the decadeswhile the Peace Corps model of sending largely recentcollege graduates abroad has remained unchanged.The majority of RPCVs rated their service as very orfairly effective in meeting the three goals (figure 1).Eighty-two percent said their service was very or fairlyeffective at helping promote a better understanding ofAmericans in the communities where RPCVs served (33percent very effective). In the five decades of the PeaceCorps existence, this view has been mostly consistent.RPCVs who served in Eastern Europe (86 percent), Asiaand the Pacific Region (85 percent), along with theMiddle East and most of Africa (81 percent), reportedconsistently high percentages. Those who served inNorth Africa were the least likely to feel this way(77 percent).Seventy-nine percent rate their service as very or fairlyeffective at helping promote a better understanding ofother peoples on the part of Americans (34 percent veryeffective). This view has remained relatively consistent,with 81 and 80 percent of respondents from the 1980sand 2000s, respectively, reporting effectiveness. Thepercentage of respondents reporting effectivenesswas slightly smaller in the 1960s, with 78 percent.5 Wofford, H. (1980). Of Kennedys & Kings, Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.6 Ibid.| 12A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011

Those serving in predominantly Muslim countries in NorthAfrica and the Middle East were also successful in thisendeavor, with 79 percent and 76 percent, respectively,reporting that their efforts had been effective.The goal that rated the lowest among RPCVs was helpingpeople of interested communities meet their need fortrained workers; just 59 percent of RPCVs felt their servicewas very or fairly effective in meeting this goal (20percent very effective). And while the effectiveness of theirservice in achieving the two cultural goals was consistentacross decades, RPCVs in the 2000s were the least likely(54 percent) to report their experience as very or fairlyeffective in meeting this goal. The level of effectivenessalso varied greatly across different regions. Those RPCVsfrom Southern Africa were the most likely to report (67percent) that this goal was met fairly effectively. Thosereturning from the Middle East reported the lowest levelof success (52 percent).While most RPCVs felt needed and welcomed in theircommunities (48 percent said this describes theirexperience very well) and believed the work they weregiven to do was meaningful (49 percent said very well),less than one-third were confident they had achievedtheir assignment goals (30 percent describes very well)perhaps in part because just 25 percent characterizedtheir assignments as “well defined” and felt they wereadequately prepared to carry them out.Figure 2: How well does each describe yourPeace Corps experience?Figure 1: Achieving the Three GoalsIn describing their experiences in an open formquestion, 33 percent said the “best thing” about beinga Peace Corps Volunteer was the people they met, lifelongfriendships they formed, and being accepted andwelcomed by the local community. Thirty-one percentsaid the “best thing” was living in a foreign countryand immersion in a new culture. Only 9 percent said asense of accomplishment in making a difference wasthe “best thing” about their experience.Goal 1: Helping people of interested countriesmeet their needs for trained men and womenThe first goal, transferring skills to developing countries byhelping them meet their needs for trained workers, scoredthe lowest of the three among our survey respondents.It is important to remember, however, that the PeaceCorps founders viewed peace—not development—asthe agency’s overriding purpose. 7 The U.S. governmenthad, and still has, other aid programs and developmentassistance, chief among these today are U.S. AID and theMillennium Challenge Corporation.More recent RPCVs were also less likely to feel neededin the community (76 percent of RPCVs from the 2000ssaid this describes their experience well/fairly well,compared to 86 percent of RPCVs from the 1960s) andless likely to feel their assignments were meaningfuland had an impact (74 percent of RPCVs from the2000s said this describes their experience well/fairly well, compared to 86 percent from the 1960s).Furthermore, RPCVs from the 2000s compared to thosefrom the 1960s were less likely to feel they achievedtheir assignment goals (RPCV responses showed a 9percent decline from 1960s to 2000s), less likely to feelthey were adequately prepared (11 percent decline),and less likely to feel that their projects were welldefined (19 percent decline).7 Ibid.A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 201113|

Figure 3: Program Experience by DecadeThese findings are consistent with the Peace Corps’own assessment. In June 2010, the Peace Corpsreleased a Comprehensive Agency Assessment basedon hundreds of responses the assessment teamreceived from Volunteers, RPCVs, agency staff, hostcountry partners, Members of Congress and their staff,and others.As the world has advanced and become moresophisticated through new technologies, and countriesworldwide now have university trained leaders andnational development strategies, the assessment foundthat the Peace Corps must evolve its model for the 21stCentury. Such modernization of the Peace Corps musthelp meet host country expectations and ensure PeaceCorps Volunteers have meaningful and important workto do for which they have received the appropriatetraining and preparation to complete their assignments.The current training process emphasizes generalpreparation for the volunteer experience. Beforethey deploy, Peace Corps Volunteers receive from8 to 12 weeks of initial training that focuses onpreparing them to live in host communities. There iscross-cultural training, language training, health andwellness training, and safety training, all of whichis based on preparing the Peace Corps Volunteer fortheir experience. There is relatively less emphasis,however, on job training or preparing them to carryout skilled work.Technical training to teach Peace Corps Volunteersto carry out assignments is typically done in thehost country once the volunteer arrives. The 2010Assessment found that the number of projectscombined with each post developing its own trainingcontent led to a need for improved technical trainingfor Peace Corps Volunteers. Our survey results supportthis finding and suggest that more effective on-the-jobteacher training for the Volunteers new to teaching maybe among the greatest needs.While language training has improved over thedecades, according to the RPCVs, satisfaction with thepreparation they were given to carry out assignmentshas declined. The share of RPCVs reporting theyreceived “sufficient language training” rose from 56percent among RPCVS from the 1960s to 71 percentamong RPCVS from the 2000s. The share of RPCVSwho “felt your training prepared you to carry out yourassignment,” however, declined from 66 percent amongRPCVs from the 1960s to 55 percent among RPCVsfrom the 2000s.Most assignments are based on the interests of PeaceCorps Volunteers and involve partnerships with localorganizations in the host country. Yet, who sets thegoals for Volunteer assignments is unclear.According to the RPCVs, 80 percent receivedplacements that matched their interests or expertiseprior to joining (figure 4). Also, 77 percent reportedpartnering with a local organization during theirservice to carry out their assignments. But despite thesepartnerships, RPCVs reported that it is not clear whosets the goals for their work, and this in part couldexplain why the majority of RPCVs do not feel confidentthey achieved their goals (30 percent “describes verywell” in figure 2).Figure 4: AssignmentsWhen asked who set the goals for their service (andallowed multiple responses) roughly half said “I did,”the local community did, or the host country PeaceCorps office did (figure 5). Further analysis of thedata determined that just 16 percent in fact set thegoals themselves, while 37 percent set the goals inconjunction with the local partner or Peace Corps,and 47 percent relied entirely on the local partner or| 14A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011

Peace Corps to set the goals of their service.These responses show that to measure impact, theremust be clear goals and accountability for whodetermines them.Figure 5: Who set the goals for yourPeace Corps Service?Measuring impact can become more complicated whenthere are so many local partnerships involved with thePeace Corps. In fiscal year 2009, Peace Corps postsreported 560 collaborations with host governmentagencies and more than 360 collaborations with localNGOs, universities and local private companies. 8While reported partnerships with local organizationsin the communities where Peace Corps Volunteers liveand serve have risen over time, the effectiveness ofthese partnerships has declined according to theRPCVs (figure 6).Figure 6: Local PartnershipsThe result is that despite very high general levels ofsatisfaction, more recent RPCVs give their overall PeaceCorps experience lower scores than do earlier cohortsand a higher proportion characterize it as frustrating(figure 7). This may be due in part to the gradual shiftin the objectives of service from measurable objectivessuch as teaching, agriculture, and engineering to agreater emphasis on personal outreach like communityand youth development that make it more difficultto assess impact. These findings also likely reflectthe difficulty the Peace Corps has faced updatingand adapting a 1960s model for today’s world. Arecommended strategy from the 2010 ComprehensiveAgency Assessment is to improve the Peace Corps’monitoring and reporting systems for measuring impactof the first goal.Figure 7: Satisfaction has DeclinedGoal 2: Helping promote a better understandingof Americans on the part of peoples servedThe Peace Corps has had much greater successhelping promote a better understanding ofAmericans around the world. When the RPCVswere asked how their service impacted attitudestoward Americans in the community they served,more than 90 percent reported positive attitudesafter completing their service compared to 78percent when they arrived (figure 8). After 9/11,deliberate efforts were undertaken to deploy PeaceCorps Volunteers to countries with significantMuslim populations to help promote cross-culturalunderstanding. The survey results attest that RPCVsfelt their greatest impact in the field has been asagents of soft diplomacy for the U.S. rather thantechnical assistance.8 The Peace Corps. (2010). The Peace Corps: A Comprehensive Agency Assessment.A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 201115|

Case Study: Effective PartnershipsVELINGARA NET DISTRIBUTION CAMPAIGNIn his 1961 report to President Kennedy, Sargent Shriver said the second most important need that the PeaceCorps could meet was eliminating malaria. Five decades later, the promise of his original vision is starting tobe fulfilled and the Peace Corps is playing its part.In Senegal in 2008, more than 14 million citizens were at risk of contracting malaria and the under-5mortality rate was approximately 1 in 12. Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease with availabletools to help combat it, including long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets (LLINs) under which familiescan sleep at night to protect against the potentially deadly bite of a mosquito that transmits malaria. Inresponse to these startling statistics and facts, the Peace Corps began a LLIN distribution effort in select ruralcommunities with the goal of eventually expanding the program to a larger area. The grassroots capabilitiesof the Peace Corps allowed Volunteers to use house-to-house communications strategies, design and conductcensus-taking processes, design individual accountability mechanisms, and create incentives for regularbed net use.In order to obtain the necessary resources to successfully expand the program beyond just local communities,however, the Peace Corps united with other organizations with varying skill sets and resources. In 2009,it officially began its collaboration with Senegal’s Ministry of Health, Malaria No More, World Vision,and Tostan (founded by RPCV Molly Melching) and together these organizations set a goal to distributeLLINs throughout the entire Velingara district in southern Senegal. These partnerships with NGOs and theSenegalese Government allowed the Peace Corps to bring its rural LLIN distribution model to scale andcombine bed net distribution with a large-scale education and communication effort.Peace Corps Volunteers, other volunteers and community health workers helped oversee the initial census todetermine where LLINs would end up, distributed bed nets by village to guarantee delivery, educated LLINrecipients about proper net usage, and conducted a follow-up “hang-check” to ensure that nets had beenproperly installed. Supplementing the bed net distribution effort was a comprehensive communication andeducation strategy geared toward increased awareness about the use of bed nets and malaria. The partneringorganizations oversaw the creation of a national media campaign and ensured that villages united under acommunal commitment to use their nets and that radios broadcasted malaria information and discussions.As a result of the partnerships and the combined distribution and communications efforts, nearly 100percent of the population in this province has been covered with a bed net and the local population hasdemonstrated a marked increase in malaria knowledge. More than 99,000 LLINs have been distributed acrossthe Velingara district; community health workers have developed good training and experience; the campaignhas been adapted to other regions in Senegal; and efforts have been expanded to encompass coverage forthe entire Senegalese population.Each organization provided the unique strengths of its resources and networks in order to make the LLINcampaign a success. The Ministry of Health provided more than 350 volunteers to assist with the netdistribution and follow-up processes. Malaria No More provided 80 percent of the funding for nets, malariaknowledge and attitude surveys, and a multimedia campaign. Tostan helped organize inter-village gatheringsand logistics support, whereas World Vision contributed census data and human resources for projectmanagement, distribution, training, and grassroots communication. These invaluable assets, when combinedwith the Peace Corps’ logistical and Volunteer efforts, enabled the partners to conduct the entire Velingaranet distribution campaign within six months. 9 This partnership is literally saving thousandsof lives that otherwise would be lost or diminished by malaria.9 Velingara Net Distribution Campaign, Malaria No More| 16A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011

TODAY, 22 PERCENT OF ALL PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS SERVE IN 38 PERCENT OF THE COUNTRIESCONSIDERED TO BE PREDOMINATELY MUSLIM (POPULATION AT LEAST 40 PERCENT MUSLIM). OVER1,900 AMERICAN VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF WORK IN THESE 18 HOST COUNTRIES. THIS REMAINS ATOP PRIORITY FOR THE AGENCY.Figure 8: Thinking about the community in whichyou served, what were the attitudes towardAmericans when you arrived and when you left?RPCVs also believed the Peace Corps has had an effecton national security and improving the perception ofthe United States around the world. Among all RPCVs,93 percent said the Peace Corps has improved theperception of the United States globally, 74 percentbelieved it has helped the U.S. adapt to globalization,66 percent said it has improved U.S. foreign policy, andover half (51 percent) believed it has had an effect onimproving national security (figure 9).Figure 9: Impact on National Security andForeign Policycontribute to mutual understanding, appreciation, andrespect saying “it is hard to hate those you know.”Fifteen percent believed the more people outside theU.S. meet Americans the less vulnerable they will beto preconceived notions and stereotypes and the lesslikely they will be to harm Americans. And 12 percentbelieved the Peace Corps has improved nationalsecurity by promoting an atmosphere of understandingacross cultures.RPCVs who believed the Peace Corps has improvedU.S. foreign policy point to the employment of RPCVsin the foreign service and involvement in politics andpolicy. Twenty percent of RPCVs believed the PeaceCorps influences foreign policy through the experiencethey bring to positions in the Foreign Service or U.S.Department of State. And 17 percent said that it isthrough the experience RPCVs bring to careers inpolitics or Congress that may also have an influence onU.S. foreign policy.“HAVING PEOPLE COME FROM OUTSIDE IS AHELP…IT’S GOING TO HELP CREATE UNDERSTANDING.”—Indira Gandhi, addressing 97 Peace Corps trainees in New Delhi:October 1968Figure 10: Impact on National Security andForeign Policy by Volunteers who have Served inthe Military or GovernmentRPCVs who think the Peace Corps has improved U.S.national security believed that personal connectionsand greater cross-cultural understanding defusetensions. When asked to elaborate on how the PeaceCorps has improved national security, 21 percentbelieved the personal relationships developed betweenPeace Corps Volunteers and host country nationalsA CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 201117|

| 18RPCVs who have served in the government or the U.S.military were more likely to feel that the Peace Corps hasimproved U.S. foreign policy and national security, andslightly more likely to feel it has helped the U.S. adapt toglobalization (figure 10).Goal 3: Helping promote a better understanding ofother peoples on the part of AmericansAchieving the third goal of the Peace Corps—helpingpromote a better understanding among Americans ofother people and cultures—is a two-step process. Thefirst part is the effect that their Peace Corps service hason the perceptions of the Volunteers. The second partinvolves how those RPCVs communicate the deeperappreciation of other cultures gained from service intheir life choices, careers, and to their fellow Americans.First, RPCVs in our survey reported a 20-point increasein their attitude toward the community in which theyserved from when they arrived to when they left (figure11). Ninety-three percent of RPCVs reported a positive orvery positive attitude toward their host community whenthey completed their service, compared to 73 percentwhen they arrived. Twenty-three percent felt neutralabout the community in which they served when theyarrived compared to just four percent when they left.Figure 11: What was your attitude toward thecommunity in which you served when you arrivedand when you left?Second, RPCVs reported they brought their experiencehome by applying the skills they learned, speakingabout their experience, and advocating on behalf ofglobal issues and the Peace Corps. Nearly two-thirds(63 percent) said they have applied the skills theylearned in the Peace Corps to their work or anothervolunteer experience. More than half of RPCVs havespoken to audiences in the U.S. about their experienceoverseas, with 56 percent speaking to groups and 52percent speaking at schools. And 1 in 5 have advocatedlawmakers on global issues (21 percent) or for the PeaceCorps (18 percent).Case Study: Recreating the Peace Corps experience forteachers at homeTHE STORY OF BRIAN GLENN ANDFRAN HUCKABYThe lifeblood of the PeaceCorps lies with the storiesof friendship, understandingand sustainabledevelopment and thepowerful multiplier effectthose stories portray.Brian Glenn and Fran Huckaby, Photo courtesyof NPCA.Twelve years ago, BrianGlenn and Fran Huckaby(Papua New Guinea1997-99) served as Rural Community Development Facilitatorsin six rural villages in the Eastern Highlands Province. The coupleexemplified the important role of “facilitator” as they worked withthe community to select local teachers and elect a communityschool board. They assisted with curriculum development andteacher training programs. They helped secure grants that led to theconstruction of six K-2 schools. Construction and planning addressedother needs too, as each school included a catchment tank fordrinking water, and a small community library. There was also a grantto provide travel support for a community health worker.The impact of this Peace Corps success story does not, however, endin the remote villages of a country too many Americans would behard pressed to find on a map. It extends to the campus of TexasChristian University (TCU).As an Associate Professor in the College of Education at TCU, Franregularly applies some of her Peace Corps experiences as sheprepares the next generation of classroom teachers. When teachingcourses such as Diversity in American Education, or Philosophyand Ethics in Education, Fran often refers back to her Peace Corpsexperiences. Occasionally, Fran has a “PNG (Papua New Guinea)Day” in her classroom. She sets up the classroom like a PNG village,speaks to the college students only in the local language (“I can dothis because I haven’t run into anyone yet who speaks MelanesianTok Pisin!”) and then has the students take a test. The exercise isdesigned to give her future teachers the feeling of what it mightbe like for some of their future students who may speak a differentlanguage and be unfamiliar with the local environment, cultureand customs.This summer the couple traveled back to Papua New Guinea. Whilethey didn’t know exactly what to expect upon their return, the RPCVsdid know that several of the schools they started—perhaps four orfive of them—received local government recognition and are stilloperating. “That means the government is now providing resourcesto support the schools and the teachers,” said Brian.For Fran, one purpose is to update her cultural knowledge of thecountry. She also plans to lay the groundwork for an interdisciplinarystudy abroad program in which TCU students would learn—not bystudying simply in an overseas university classroom—but more bytraveling to various communities around the country. If launched,Fran and Brian believe the program could be the first study abroadprogram to PNG in the nation.ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE MARCH 2011

A TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCEThe overwhelming majority of RPCVs viewed theiroverall experience as positive and would recommendthe Peace Corps to a child or grandchild. Ninety percentrated their Peace Corps experience as excellent or verygood and 98 percent would recommend the PeaceCorps to their child, grandchild or other close familymember. By and large, these findings were consistentacross the regions in which RPCVs served, with EastAfrica, West Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean,and the Pacific region all rating above 90 percent. Thelowest overall satisfaction was among RPCVs fromEurope, but even 86 percent of RPCVs serving thererated their experience as excellent or very good.In an open form question, RPCVs cited the appreciationthey developed of other cultures (69 percent) andthe friendships they formed both in the communitiesthey served (43 percent) and with other RPCVs (43percent) as the top things they most valued from theirexperience.RPCVs also described their service as a transformativeexperience helping shape their view of the world andtheir own futures (figure 12). Ninety-two percent saidthe Peace Corps changed their lives. Eighty-nine percentsaid it gave them a different perspective of the U.S.,and 86 percent said it made them more open to peopleof different races, ethnicities, and religions.More than half of RPCVs said their service made themfeel more optimistic about the future (52 percent) andtwo-thirds said it changed their values (67 percent),including being more inspired to volunteerin community service when they returned home(59 percent). Igniting a spirit for service is one ofthe most effective ways the Peace Corps has broughtthe world home.Figure 12: Peace Corps’ Impact on the VolunteersReasons for JoiningRPCVs across the decades cited altruism, adventure,and curiosity toward the world as key motivatingfactors for joining the Peace Corps (figure 13).Specifically, the top three reasons for joining were“wanting to live in another culture,” “wanting a betterunderstanding of the world,” and “wanting to helppeople build a better life.”Despite Richard Nixon’s charge during the 1960campaign that Kennedy’s proposal was little more thana “kiddie corps” that would attract draft dodgers, 10only 19 percent of RPCVs who served when the U.S. stillhad an active draft cited avoiding the draft as a veryor fairly important motivating factor for volunteering.Although the Peace Corps did not become the draftdodgingvehicle that many policymakers feared, nearlyone in five cited that as a reason for joining.Figure 13: What Motivated You to Join thePeace Corps?“IF WE CELEBRATED VOLUNTEER WEEK ALL YEARLONG, IT WOULDN’T BE ENOUGH TIME TO HONORALL OF THE REMARKABLE, SELFLESS AMERICANS,WHO GIVE THEIR TIME, MONEY, LABOR AND LOVETO HELP THEIR NEIGHBORS.”—Ronald Reagan, at a White House Rose Garden event duringPeace Corps Week: March 198510 Meisler, S. (2011). When the World Calls: The Inside Story of the Peace Corps and Its First Fifty Years. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE MARCH 201119|

While overall development of career skills, suchas learning a language or leadership skills, wereseen as less important motivating factors than theopportunity to live abroad, there has been a significantgenerational shift in the view toward acquiring skills,possibly reflecting pressures RPCVs feel from employerstoday that place a greater demand on job skills andexperience when they return home.More recent RPCVs place a greater emphasis on careerdevelopment as a motivation for joining the PeaceCorps. This is likely a reflection of their stage in life,as well as changes in the workplace. Just 30 percentof RPCVs from the 1960s identified “wanting todevelop career and leadership skills” as an importantmotivation (only 9 percent said it was very important),compared to 68 percent of RPCVs from the 2000s (36percent said it was very important).The importance of learning a new language hasincreased considerably over the decades, consistentwith a more integrated and competitive globaleconomy. While 56 percent of all RPCVs said “wantingto learn a new language” was an important reasonfor joining the Peace Corps, the share of Volunteerswanting to learn language skills has increased everydecade—from 45 percent saying it was important inthe 1960s to 71 percent citing it as important in the 2000s.Who ServesThe composition of RPCVs has done a completeturnabout over the past five decades. Nearly twothirdsof all Volunteers were men in the 1960s and 63percent were men in the 1970s, while 62 percent of allVolunteers were women in the 1990s and two-thirdsof Volunteers are women today (figure 14). Levels ofeducation have remained remarkably constant, with98 percent of RPCVs across all decades having atleast a 4-year college education and more than 70percent in each decade through the 1990s having somepostgraduate work or degree. We note that they maynot have had these levels of education during theirPeace Corps service, of course, and that many of theRPCVs from the 2000s are still relatively young andlikely to be getting further education.Figure 14: Volunteers by Decade of ServiceAs America has become increasingly diverse by raceand ethnicity and more older Americans are livinglonger and wanting to give back through volunteering,the Peace Corps has also worked hard to increasethe diversity of its volunteer ranks. Over the past fivedecades, the share of minority RPCVs in our surveyincreased from 9 percent in the 1960s to 14 percent inthe 2000s. According to the latest data from the PeaceCorps, 17 percent of currently serving Volunteers inSeptember 2010 were of minority backgrounds. 11 And11 percent of RPCVs in our survey identified themselvesas 50 or older at the start of their service in the 1990sand 2000s (this information was not available forearlier cohorts due to smaller sample size). Still, giventhe changing demographics of the United Statesand recent surveys showing the strong interestamong older Americans in giving back, the Peace Corpsneeds to accelerate its efforts to increase the diversityof its Volunteers.Where Volunteers GoNot surprisingly, where Peace Corps Volunteers havegone has changed significantly over the course of itshistory. Africa still hosts the largest share of PeaceCorps Volunteers: 43 percent in the 2000s versus35 percent in the 1960s. And although the countryprograms have changed, Latin America and theCaribbean, as a region, hosted a similar share of PeaceCorps Volunteers: 29 percent in the 2000s versus 31percent in the 1960s.But the biggest shifts have been the decline in PeaceCorps Volunteers in Asia (12 percent in the 2000sversus 26 percent in the 1960s) due in large part to therise of Asian economies and the introduction of PeaceCorps Volunteers in Eastern Europe after the fall ofcommunism (15 percent in the 2000s versus 0 percentin the 1960s.)11 The Peace Corps. (2011). Peace Corps Congressional Budget Justification: Fiscal Year 2012.| 20ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE MARCH 2011

Figure 15: Regions by Decade of Serviceunder half today; but teachers still constitute thehighest percentage overall (figure 16). Making up thedifference, youth and community development, healthcare, information, and environmental conservation haveall grown as a share of volunteer activities since thePeace Corps’s inception.Figure 16: What did your Peace Corps Volunteerservice focus on?What Volunteers DoPeace Corps Volunteers serve for two years plusthree months of training for a total of 27 months. ThePeace Corps does not offer shorter-term assignments,although once a Peace Corps Volunteer has served,he or she is eligible to participate in additionalshorter-term assignments as a part of the Peace CorpsResponse program. The work Peace Corps Volunteersdo is ultimately determined by the needs of hostcountries that invite them and also reflects theunderlying changes in the global economy overthe decades. The rise of environmentalism and theinformation age has dramatically affected the serviceof Peace Corps Volunteers.In his report to the President, Sargent Shriver indicatedthat the greatest need that the Peace Corps wouldfill was for trained teachers. Consistent with thatreport, the greatest demand from the field is still forteachers. Nearly two-thirds of Peace Corps Volunteerswere teachers in the first decade compared to justThe impact of the Peace Corps on its Volunteers isprofoundly personal. RPCVs report that their serviceinfluenced not only their political and policy views,but also such personal choices as their vocational andavocational pursuits (figure 17). More than half reporttheir service influenced their political views (53 percent)and three-quarters said it influenced their view of U.S.foreign policy (74 percent). Additionally, 26 percentsaid their service influenced their religious or spiritualbeliefs a great deal or a fair amount.“T E ACHING IN TANZANIA GAVE ME A LIFELONG INTEREST IN EDUCATION, ONE OF MY PRIMARY POINTSOF FOCUS AS GOVERNOR, AND IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I AM ENJOYING MY WORKHERE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON. IT’S REMARKABLE THE PEACE CORPS CONTINUES TO THRIVEIN ITS 50TH YEAR, PROVIDING LIFE-CHANGING VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES FOR AMERICANS WHILEPRESENTING AN AUTHENTIC, DOWN TO EARTH VIEW OF OUR COUNTRY TO PEOPLE AROUND THEWORLD. LIVING AND WORKING IN ADEVELOPING COUNTRY HELPED ME APPRECIATE WHAT WE ENJOYIN THE U.S., ESPECIALLY OUR DEMOCRACY AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS. I ALSO GAINED ANAWARENESS OF THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE IN AFRICA AND OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE OF ASSISTANCEWHERE WE CAN.”—Bob Taft, former Republican Governor of OhioA CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 201121|

Case Study: One Volunteer’s experience leads to a new business ideaTHE STORY OF SAM GOLDMANSam Goldman (Benin 2001-2005) is the founder and CEO of d.light design,an international consumer company whose mission is “to enable householdswithout reliable electricity to attain the same quality of life as those withelectricity.” The company aims to improve the lives of 100 million individuals by2020, beginning by replacing every kerosene lantern with revolutionary energyand lighting solutions that are affordable, durable and energy-efficient.Sam Goldman in Benin. Photo courtesy of NPCA.During Goldman’s Peace Corps service in Guinagourou, Benin, the son of oneof his neighbors was badly burned by a kerosene lamp (one of many thousandsof such accidents around the world). Goldman vowed to find a way to providepeople in the developing world with safer, brighter, and more affordablelighting. Upon his return to the United States, Goldman enrolled in StanfordBusiness School and it was there that d.light design was born.Since founding d.light design in 2007, Goldman has raised more than USD11million in funding, started the India sales and marketing division, and overseen multiple product launches, including the award-winning S250and S10 solar lights. As a result of his leadership, Sam has been selected as an Ashoka Fellow and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.–Goldman has said that “one of the most amazing phone calls” he has ever received was when the same boy who had been burned by thekerosene fire called from Guinagourou, Benin, to tell him that he had received a d.light lantern through the Peace Corps Volunteer network.“He had gotten my phone number and wanted to call personally to thank me for the light”, Goldman said.Figure 17: Peace Corps’ Influence onVolunteers’ FuturesFigure 18: Since your Peace Corps experiencewhat has been your principal area of work?Sixty percent of RPCVs reported their service influencedtheir choice of career. The careers RPCVs pursuedhave changed a little bit with each generation. In the1960s, when 64 percent reported their service area aseducation, 50 percent went on to pursue careers ineducation after their service. RPCVs from the 1960salso pursued careers in business (23 percent), thenonprofit sector (20 percent), federal, state, or localgovernment (20 percent), healthcare (13 percent), andinternational development (10 percent).Careers in the nonprofit and health care fields haveclimbed the ladder over the decades, with 33 percentof RPCVs working in the nonprofit sector (comparedto only 20 percent in the 1960s) and health carebecoming the third most popular career path for RPCVs,outpacing business and federal/state/local governmentthat were ranked higher among RPCVs of the 1960s.Careers in the government among RPCVs in the 1960soutpace such careers in the 2000s by 20 percent to 14percent, respectively. The most recent decade of RPCVs,for which it is still too soon to know the full directionof their careers, are roughly divided between educationand the nonprofit sector (33 percent each) andhealth care, business, government, and internationaldevelopment (14 percent each).| 22A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011

Confidential. Embargoed until September 20, 2011.More than half (55 percent) of all RPCVs reportedthat they regularly volunteer in their local community,double the national average for volunteering in theUnited States, which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statisticsreports has been at approximately 26 percent over thelast five years. And 39 percent of RPCUs have raisedmoney or other resources to help people abroad.Among RPCVs who say their Peace Corps experienceinfluenced how they spend their leisure time, the effectis slightly greater with nearly 60 percent reportingit influenced them to volunteer again in their localcommunity and 45 percent saying it motivated themto help raise money or resources for the less fortunatearound the world (figure 19).Figure 19: Peace Corps Influence on Volunteering–Case Study: Bringing the Peace Corps homeTHE STORY OF JOHN COYNEJohn Coyne was with the firstgroup of Peace Corps Volunteersto Ethiopia (1962-64) and taughtEnglish at the CommercialSchool in Addis Ababa. Over hiscareer, he worked for the PeaceCorps in Washington, D.C. andas an Associate Peace CorpsDirector in Ethiopia. While inWashington, drawing on variousmodels, he wrote the conceptpaper that outlined a new rolefor Peace Corps Volunteers—theCrisis Corps, later renamed PeaceCorps Response.In 1987 he began publishingthe newsletter RPCV Writers &Readers with another EthiopianPCV, Marian Haley Beil; in 1999the newsletter morphed into thewebsite Peace Corps Writers—which has since morphed intowww.peacecorpsworldwide.com. This is a valuable resourcefor those interested in learning about how Peace Corps Volunteersview the world. John is the co-founder of the Peace Corps Fund—anon-profit foundation to support Third Goal activities of RPCVsJohn Coyne. Photo courtesy of John Coyne.and is a member of the board of Ethiopia & Eritrea RPCVs. He is anoutstanding example of an RPCV who works to share the breadthand depth of the Peace Corps experience, most often by sharingthe wonderful stories of other RPCVs.A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 201123|

KEY MOMENTS: PEACE CORPS HISTORY19651966197119791981A coup leads to a civilwar in the DominicanRepublic. U.S. troops invadeand despite great risk topersonal safety, Peace CorpsVolunteers remained behindto aid civilians caught up inthe fighting.Peace Corps reaches itspeak membership, with15,556 Volunteers across47 countries.President Richard Nixon,a Peace Corps detractor,brought the programunder the umbrella of theACTION agency for federalvolunteering.President Jimmy Carter,whose mother had beena nurse in the Peace Corps,restored Peace Corpsautonomy viaexecutive order.President Ronald Reaganappointed Loret MillerRuppe as Director of thePeace Corps. She was thelongest serving director,and maintained a highlevel of popularitythroughout her tenure.One thousand of the first3,000 Volunteers to returnconvene in Washington,D.C. for the Citizensin a Time of ChangeConference—at the call ofPresident Johnson and VicePresident Humphrey.Peace Corps begins tofocus heavily onpromoting small businessdevelopment indeveloping nations.19821987198919962001-20011Congress re-establishesthe Peace Corps as anindependent agency.Peace Corps reachesthe lowest number ofVolunteers since its firstthree years, with 5,219Volunteers.The Berlin Wall falls andthe Peace Corps begins tosend Volunteers to EasternEurope for the first time.The Crisis Corps isestablished forexperienced formerVolunteers to give shorttermrelief in countriesfacing natural disasters.Peace Corps substantiallyramps up its efforts tocombat HIV/AIDS andmalaria, particularly inAfrica, tied to PEPFARand the President’sMalaria Initiative.Safety and SecurityThe issue of safety of Peace Corps Volunteershas recently received increased attention duringCongressional hearings in the Spring of 2011, followingthe tragic murder of Kate Puzey, a Peace CorpsVolunteer in Benin. The details of the Puzey tragedyshined a spotlight on the Peace Corps’ inadequatehandling of the case. Ms. Puzey reported to Peace Corpscountry headquarters that a Peace Corps contractorat the school where Ms. Puzey volunteered wasallegedly molesting female students. After the tragedy,more Peace Corps Volunteers who had been victimsof assault during their service came forward to drawattention to what they saw as Peace Corps’ uneven andinadequate handling of safety issues and a culture theydescribed as “blame the victim.”The Peace Corps promised to take a hard look at itselfand improve its safety and response policies. DirectorAaron Williams pledged to make safety reforms a toppriority and to improve safety training. During histestimony before the House Committee on ForeignAffairs on May 11, 2011, Director Williams outlined thePeace Corps’s reform agenda concerning the safety andsecurity of Peace Corps Volunteers and enumeratedsteps that have been taken and will be taken to ensurecontinued safe and secure experiences for Volunteers.Although most changes and improvements revolvearound the issue of sexual assault victims, Williamsmakes a clear commitment to improving the quality,efficiency, and transparency to bolster the safety of allPeace Corps Volunteers.Bills pending in Congress would codify reforms theagency has put in place such as better staff trainingand protection for whistleblowers, and would requiremore detailed crime statistics and the Peace Corpsand U.S. Department of State to formalize how U.S.Embassy officials respond to crimes against PeaceCorps Volunteers.Although the great majority of RPCVs reported thatthey felt safe in their service and did not express majorconcerns about safety (figure 20). During that time,there has been a gradual increase in the percentage of| 24A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011

women who reported feeling unsafe as the number ofwomen in the Peace Corps rose dramatically from the1960s to the 2000s. Volunteer demographics changedfrom two-thirds male in the 1960s to two-thirds femaletoday. There was an increase in the number of femalePeace Corps Volunteers who report that safety was amajor concern for them (from 2 percent in the 1960s,gradually climbing to 6 percent in the 1980s, and to8 percent in the 2000s). Just 1 to 3 pecent of menthe across five decades report concerns about safetyand security.Nearly all RCPVs (98 percent) would recommend thePeace Corps to their child, grandchild, or close familymember. Although not expressly asked in the contextof safety, it could still be interpreted that if safety fearswere prevalent among RPCVs, they would have secondthoughts about sending their children, grandchildrenor close family members in harm’s way. And whenasked to describe in an open form question the “worstthing” about their Peace Corps experience, 15 percentidentified illness and getting sick, 9 percent said lack ofsupport or leadership from Peace Corps staff, 8 percentmentioned loneliness and isolation, and 6 percent saidmissing friends and family at home or not being able tocommunicate with friends and family. Safety concernswere not mentioned.Notwithstanding these encouraging findings aboutthe safety and security of Peace Corps assignments,vigorous efforts must be undertaken to reduce concernsaround safety and security as much as possible, andany percentage, however low, is cause for concernwhen lives are at risk or Volunteers are in harm’s way.Figure 20: Safety and SecurityUNFINISHED BUSINESSSargent Shriver’s report to the President in February1961 laid a clear foundation for the agency its foundersenvisioned; however, that vision was lost over thesubsequent years. It is our belief that the originalframework is even more relevant today and points theway forward for the agency’s next 50 years, if the PeaceCorps is to continue to grow and evolve to meet itsfull potential.According to the 1961 founding report, the Peace Corps’role was to “reinforce existing private and publicprograms of assistance and development,” as wellas, “to initiate new programs requiring Peace Corpsmanpower.” 12 “The resources, energy, and experienceof our non-governmental institutions, including collegesand universities, foundations, trade unions, businesses,civic groups and religious bodies must be tapped. Thismust be a cooperative venture of the whole Americanpeople.” 13When President Kennedy launched the Peace Corps in1961, he wondered if the skeptics’ prediction of failurewould be its fate. But by August 1962, when he sentoff some 600 Volunteers, the Peace Corps was widelyacclaimed as a success. The Volunteers had shownthey were up to the challenge. After the ceremony onthe South Lawn of the White House, he came back tothe Oval Office in high spirits with his then SpecialAssistant Harris Wofford, who was about to leave tobecome the Peace Corps special representative in Africaand director of the 300-strong Ethiopian program. ThePresident said: “The Peace Corps will be truly seriouswhen 100,000 Americans are serving abroad eachyear–-one million over a decade. Then, we will have amore informed U.S. foreign policy.”12 Shriver, S. (1961). Summary Report to the President on the Peace Corps. Office of the White House Press Secretary.13 Ibid.We recommend that Shriver’s original plan for thePeace Corps to send Volunteers through five channelsshould be reviewed and reconsidered, as one of theways Kennedy’s hope can be fulfilled. The original planforesaw the Peace Corps operating throughfive different channels:1. Through grants to international service programscarried out by private agencies: This would expandexisting voluntary programs and encourage otherprivate organizations to undertake projects as wellas promote variety and experimentation;2. Through agreements with colleges, universities, orother educational institutions: Already in 1960, 57universities had contracts with the InternationalA CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 201125|

Cooperation Agency in 37 countries for education ordevelopment projects. Shriver also felt universitieswere ideally suited to recruit, select, and trainVolunteers from among their students;3. Through programs of other U.S. governmentagencies: There is a need for U.S. governmentagencies and overseas programs, throughrecruitment, training, and placement, to help supplyskilled Volunteers to American aid projects alreadyunderway and enhance their impact;4. Through programs of the UN and otherinternational agencies: In a similar way, the PeaceCorps can help recruit, train and offer Volunteers tointernational agencies; and5. Through directly administered Peace Corpsprograms with host countries.In the first years, several Peace Corps programs wererun by universities and private organizations—e.g., theIndiana Association of Universities, Notre Dame, CARE,and the Experiment in International Living. Shriver didnot press for the other channels, in the early stage,because he felt he was facing the challenge of jumpingout of a plane: there was one jump and he had to landsafely. He was responsible and did not think it was timeto disperse and devolve the responsibility. The fifth channelbecame the exclusive model of the Peace Corps.With the efficiency of just one model to oversee,there was a downside: the expense of maintainingand operating a government-to-government programseverely limited the program’s growth. Far fromachieving Kennedy’s vision of one day sending 100,000young Americans overseas to serve their country inthe interest of promoting peace, the present day PeaceCorps sends roughly 8,600 Volunteers abroad annually,down from a peak of 15,556 in 1966. 14years ahead. A task force to study the potential forthat approach need not brainstorm in the hurry thatKennedy asked Shriver to undertake in 1961.Toward a Stronger Peace CorpsThe three Peace Corps goals are considered no lessimportant today than when the agency was founded. 15In fact, the majority of RPCVs believed promotingcross-cultural understanding is more important todaythan ever before (figure 21).Figure 21: Compared to when the Peace Corps wasfounded 50 years ago, how has the importance ofeach of its three main goals changed?Most RPCVs believe the Peace Corps has delivered onits mission and adapted at least fairly well to the times;however, less than half believe it has done a good jobat documenting its effectiveness (figure 22). This echoesthe earlier point about the lack of aggregate data onperformance and transfer of skills making it difficult toevaluate the impact or to determine what the PeaceCorps’ return on investment is in sending Volunteersoverseas. For the Peace Corps to take a leadership rolein international service, it must be able to documentits effectiveness.Figure 22: Fulfillment of the Peace Corps MissionWe recommend that the original plan for Volunteersto serve through the other proposed channels,particularly the second and third, be seriously reviewedand reconsidered as a course for expansion in the“FOR NEARLY 35 YEARS THE PEACE CORPS HAS REPRESENTED THE UNITED STATES’ COMMITMENTTO SOCIAL INVESTMENT. IT DOES NOT OFTEN RECEIVE THE HEADLINES THAT POLITICAL ACTIONOR ECONOMIC PROGRESS DOES, BUT UNDERNEATH BOTH IS STEADY WORK DONE BY PEACE CORPSVOLUNTEERS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITIZENS OF THE COUNTRIES THEY SERVE.”—Hillary Clinton while visiting Asuncion, Paraguay – December 199614 The Peace Corps. (2011). Peace Corps Congressional Budget Justification: Fiscal Year 2012.15 For further discussion on ideas for strengthening and enhancing the Peace Corps see Kevin F. F. Quigley and Lex Rieffel, “Ten Times the Peace Corps: A Smart Investment in Soft Power,” The BrookingsInstitution, Washington, DC, Policy Brief 2008-02.| 26A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011

While RPCVs recognized the need for reforms, theyalso defended the basic model of the Peace Corps onwhich their experiences were based. Most proposals wetested with our survey enjoyed wide support—the twoexceptions were shorter-term assignments for PeaceCorps programs and enabling private organizations toadminister Peace Corps projects overseas (figure 23).While these responses are negative as it relates tothe Peace Corps itself, they do not oppose these ideasbeing advanced outside the Peace Corps.By wide margins (net favor minus oppose), RPCVssupported recruiting more experienced volunteersto offer technical expertise on projects and mentoryounger volunteers; providing better technical trainingfor entry-level volunteers to improve impact; anddefining projects more clearly both for effectivenessand accountability purposes. RPCVs also supporteddeveloping reciprocal programs to bring talent fromother countries to volunteer in the U.S. and partneringwith other international service and developmentprograms to send more American volunteers abroad.volunteer service, such as Volunteers for Prosperitythat was created by Executive Order in 2003 andbecame law in 2009, specifically recognize the needfor highly-skilled volunteers to target urgent needssuch as HIV/AIDS, malaria, clean water for the poor,and other issues of high importance. Inviting privatesector administration of Peace Corps projects is largelyopposed by RCPVs, as is shortening the service periodin the Peace Corps. RCPVs supported increasing theopportunities for overseas service outside the Peace Corps.Figure 24: Proposals to Expand the Numberof VolunteersFigure 23: Proposals to Strengthen theRPCVs from the first three decades are slightly moresupportive of reforms, with majorities supporting PeaceCorps partnerships with other private sector programsto send more Americans for service overseas and moreopportunities for Peace Corps Volunteers and others totake on shorter-term assignments through other lowcostfederally funded positions.Peace Corps ExperiencePresident Kennedy wanted the Peace Corps to have100,000 volunteers serving every year. The Peace Corpshas scarcely reached a tenth of that number for most ofits history, apart from 1966 when there were more than15,000. Our survey also asked RPCVs which proposalsthey would favor to get to 15,000 again (figure 24).By wide margins, RPCVs supported increasing federalfunding for the Peace Corps to double the numberof Volunteers, and to increase other federally fundedpositions for volunteers such as for HIV/AIDS andmalaria control as a complement to the Peace Corps.Efforts have been made over the last decade tomobilize Peace Corps Volunteers to meet needs intargeted areas, such as HIV/AIDS and malaria. Andother federal initiatives to promote internationalA CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011While more recent RPCVs are more critical of the PeaceCorps, and more likely to describe their experience as“frustrating” (figure 7), they are paradoxically moredefensive of its basic structure and less inclined toreform (figure 25).“T HE ‘70’S WERE TURBULENT AND PEACECORPS WAS NOT IMMUNE, FINANCIALLY ORPOLITICALLY. LITTLE DIDI KNOW WHEN I WASCONFIRMED THAT PEACE CORPS WOULD BEUNDER ATTACK FROM THE ADMINISTRATIONWHICH TRIED TO SUBMERGE IT WITHIN ACTIONAND EVEN TO ABOLISH THE TITLE OF PEACECORPS DIRECTOR. WHILE I WAS PROUD TOHAVE GROWN THE PROGRAM ON MY WATCH,IT IS A MATTER OF GREATER PRIDE THAT NONEOF THOSE INITIATIVES SUCCEEDED, THANKSTO A RESERVOIR OF GOODWILL ON THEHILL PLUS A MARVELOUSLY CREATIVE ANDDEDICATED STAFF.”—Nick Craw, Peace Corps Director 1973-197427|

Figure 25: Recent Volunteers DefendBasic Structure“I THINK THERE IS NO OBLIGATION MOREPRESSING UPON OUR GOVERNMENT THANTO TAP THE IDEALISM OF OUR YOUTH; TOPROVIDE WAYS AND MEANS THROUGH WHICHOUR YOUNG PEOPLE CAN VOLUNTEER FORSERVICE ON HUMANITARIAN PROJECTSWHERE HUMANITARIAN SERVICE IS NEEDED… IT WOULD COST OUR GOVERNMENT LITTLETO TAP THE RICH MAIN STREAM OF YOUNGAMERICANS’ IDEALISM. BUT REWARDS WOULDBE RICH BEYOND COMPARISON.”—Senator Lyndon Johnson, University of Nebraska studentconvocation, September 22, 1960Despite much of the good work by the Peace Corpssince its creation, there is much more that could andshould be done to expand the reach and influence ofinternational volunteer service going forward. 16 Morethan ever before, there is a great need for the kind ofwork, services, and goodwill the Peace Corps generates.While only a small fraction of President Kennedy’svision for the Peace Corps has been achieved, the 8,600Volunteers overseas today are some of the best andthe brightest and their work is often outstanding. Webelieve it is possible to increase the number of PeaceCorps Volunteers without diluting its effectiveness andto build on other international volunteering efforts tofulfill Kennedy’s dream.Our RecommendationsIn anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the PeaceCorps, the ServiceWorld coalition was formedfrom the Initiative on International Volunteeringand Service at the Brookings Institution. Withits companion Building Bridges Coalition, theServiceWorld coalition seeks to find and support theways the United States can in this new century fulfillthe original vision of the Peace Corps and the hopesof other international volunteer service efforts thatcomplement and are consistent with that vision. 17Today, the ServiceWorld coalition has more than300 non-government organizations, colleges anduniversities, corporations, community and faithbasedgroups, and many others working together toadvance toward the international service goals of notonly President Kennedy, but of other presidents, bothDemocrat and Republican, since the founding of thePeace Corps. Both the National Peace Corps and CivicEnterprises, and the authors of this Report, are activeparticipants in helping to shape the agenda of thecoalition. Together, we are developing an agenda forexpanding international volunteer service. We proposeto strengthen, reform, and leverage some existingprograms and infrastructure, and to launch newinitiatives to create more opportunities for Americans,including RPCVs, to work alongside volunteers fromother countries.In moving forward with this agenda, we expect thisreport of the views of RPCVs will itself be of greatvalue, and we hope more interested RPCVs will becomeparticipants in the coalition, especially those whoparticipated in our survey.The plan proposes to engage the energy ofthousands of additional Americans who wouldbe ready to volunteer overseas if there wereopportunities to do so. We believe such a quantumleap in the Peace Corps and in other internationalvolunteering will strengthen our nation’s ability totackle global challenges, help close the employmentgap during this economic downturn, and lead to amore prosperous and secure world.16 For a background discussion on these ideas, see David Caprara, Kevin F. F. Quigley, and Lex Rieffel, “International Volunteer Service: A Smart Way to Build Bridges,” The Brookings Institution,Washington, D.C., Policy Brief 2009-01.17 For more information about these coalitions, see www.buildbridgescoalition.org and serviceworld.org.| 28A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011

Below are core principles and proposals we haveidentified for an expansion of international volunteerservice, followed by an action agenda for Congress, theAdministration and private and non-profit sectors.Our PrinciplesPartnerships, Not Paternalism – We will foster aculture of volunteer service and social innovation withvolunteers from many nations serving side-by-side atwork on shared problems. We will stress the goal ofbuilding social capital internationally through personto-personcontact and capacity-building, and show thatAmericans have as much to learn from others as othershave to learn from us.Global Service 2.0. – Through the Peace Corps,government-to-government agreements have enabledvolunteers to serve for at least two years in more than130 countries. We support a major expansion of thePeace Corps. Our plan also provides new opportunitiesfor shorter terms of service directly through nongovernmentorganizations working overseas. Already,hundreds of nongovernment programs have emergedsince the Peace Corps’ creation, which send tens ofthousands of volunteers overseas every year. We seekto leverage limited resources through partnerships withnon-profit and private sector programs (NGOs, faithbasedorganizations, and corporations). Recent surveysshow that new volunteers, among them Millennials andBaby Boomers, can be readily tapped.Next Generation of Global Leaders – We believeinternational service, study abroad, and exchangeprograms should be supported as an integral part ofquality education in the United States and aroundthe world. We want to scale up these programs andstrengthen the links among them.Interfaith Service – Too often in the past, peopleof different faiths have been warring in the name ofreligion. We will support global partnerships that bringpeople of different faiths together in shared work. Webelieve such partnerships are among the most effectiveways to foster peace and reconciliation in “hot spots”of conflict.Creating Opportunity – We see the value ofinternational service as a bridge to high-quality jobs.That service experience can help Americans be morecompetitive in the global marketplace—providingvaluable skills, perspectives, social networks andincentives for their future careers.President Reagan with the first group of Peace Corps Volunteers to return from Grenadaafter a 6 year absence in the country, 1985. ©Peace Corps.Innovation and Technology – Social innovationsand new technologies are strengthening the reach andimpact of international volunteer service. With theclick of a mouse, individuals can find serviceopportunities in countries around the world. Withthe use of new technologies, volunteers can be moreefficient and effective in meeting urgent needs.We will work to ignite more social innovation anduse of new technologies to strengthen internationalvolunteer service.Fiscal Responsibility – Given the present fiscalcrisis and the many urgent needs of our country, wemust be innovative in achieving our goals and show ahigh return on investment. Through partnerships withNGOs, the cost of supporting volunteers overseas canbe reduced. Where possible, we hope Congress willdraw funds for expanded international service fromexisting funding streams, making such volunteer servicea core component of existing programs. In buildingpublic-private partnerships, we can increase the privateand independent sectors’ share of funding and ensuregovernment resources are well leveraged.Measurable Results – We will focus on achievablegoals, establish effective measures of accountability,and report on results. These efforts will includeassessments of the participation in international serviceamong the U.S. population over 16, as conducted bythe U.S. Census Bureau’s annual survey and reportedby the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; internationalA CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 201129|

service policy implementation; and the effects ofinternational service on volunteers, host organizations,and host communities. We expect to be able to showimprovements in cross-cultural understanding,human capital development, civic engagement,capacity building, education, the environment, andglobal health.The Peace Corps has grown over the last decade,but at a pace too slow to reach the goal of doublingwithin a reasonable number of years. Together, theseprograms, by 2015, can mobilize 100,000 volunteers toserve abroad each year—one million over a decade—fulfilling President Kennedy’s vision. In his 2002 Stateof the Union Address, President George W. Bush calledon Congress to double the Peace Corps and eventuallyincreased the Peace Corps to its highest Volunteerlevels in the previous three decades, showing interestin the Congress in growing the Peace Corps. As BarackObama said in his 2008 message to the National PeaceCorps Association: “We will double the size of PeaceCorps… and we’ll reach out to other nations to engagetheir young people in similar programs, so that wework side-by-side to take on the common challengesthat confront all humanity.”Our ProposalsWe offer the following initial recommendationssupported by a broad-based, bipartisan coalition ofmore than 300 organizations.1. The Peace Corps: The Peace Corps shoulddouble its ranks to 15,000 volunteers by 2015 andforge partnerships with other volunteer-sendingand international development organizations tomaximize impact and leverage funding. In additionto requesting an increase in funding for thesenew slots, the Peace Corps must continue to beaggressive in increasing the safety and security ofits Volunteers. Bills pending in Congress wouldcodify reforms the agency has put in placesuch as better staff training and protectionfor whistleblowers, and would require moredetailed crime statistics and the Peace Corpsand U.S. Department of State to formalizehow U.S. Embassy officials respond to crimesagainst Peace Corps Volunteers. We also proposethat the Peace Corps should strengthen currentprograms, lower the cost per volunteer, enable morevolunteers to serve, and respond to requests fromadditional countries. It should work to form servicepartnerships with countries such as Brazil, Indiaand Nigeria where there are currently no PeaceCorps Volunteers.“I’M NOT DEFENDING THE OLD PEACE CORPS,I’M ATTACKING IT! WE DIDN’T GO FARENOUGH!… WE NEVER REALLY GAVE THEGOAL OF ‘WORLD WIDE PEACE’ ANOVERWHELMING COMMITMENT.”—Sargent Shriver speech at Yale university,two months after 9/11: November 10, 20112. Volunteers for Prosperity: Volunteers forProsperity should expand from its present 43,000to 75,000 skilled Americans each year recruitedand deployed for flexible term assignments througha network of U.S. nonprofits that work in thedeveloping world on urgent problems, such asHIV/AIDS, malaria, education, clean water, andhelping entrepreneurs start local businesses. Thisincrease should occur through the expansion ofthe Volunteers for Prosperity’s Serve Program,which offers modest stipends to volunteers,more than matched by individual and privatesector contributions.3. Global Service Fellowships: Building onprogress in funding Global Service Fellowships withprivate sector support, Global Service Fellowshipsshould be created to mobilize 10,000 volunteerfellows each year for up to one-year assignmentsto help build the capacity of NGOs and faith-basedinstitutions working in the developing world toinnovate and solve significant global challenges.These new opportunities for international servicedirectly through experienced and tested NGOs willenable Americans to serve who would have muchto offer but are not able or ready to enlist for thetwo years that the Peace Corps requires. The GlobalService Fellows should be selected in a competitiveprocess. Members of Congress may nominatefellows from their districts and states, similar to thenominating process for the Military Academies.4. An International Social Innovation Fund:An International Social Innovation Fund should becreated to fuel further innovation in how Americanscan have a greater impact through internationalvolunteer service and increase the capacity oflocal organizations to effectively utilize their timeand talents. To enhance the impact of Americansserving overseas each year through governmentand non-government organizations, we will buildon the examples of the Volunteer Generation andSocial Innovation Funds authorized in the EdwardM. Kennedy Serve America Act.| 30A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011

The Peace Corps, Volunteers for Prosperity, GlobalService Fellowships, and the International SocialInnovation Fund should be asked to give appropriateattention to mobilizing volunteers who will advance thefollowing goals. In all cases, programs should measureoutcomes and be accountable for results:Promote a New Generation of GlobalLeaders through Service Abroad: We aim tomake serving abroad the norm, not the exception,for the education of Americans. Participants in suchglobal service coming out of high school and before,during and after college and graduate schoolwill develop an ethic of service, concrete skills (inlanguage, entrepreneurship and leadership), and aglobal perspective. These programs will be traininggrounds for a pipeline of new global leaders whohave the insight and conviction needed to solveglobal problems, and to foster understandingamong cultures, religions, and people over thecourse of their lives.Align International Volunteering andStudy Abroad: Central to promoting a newgeneration of global leaders, we propose tobroaden the mission of study abroad programsin colleges and universities to include thedevelopment of international volunteering projectsin the developing world that expose studentsto less traditional locations and better integrateinternational service into mainstream curriculum.Given the already substantial role the federalgovernment plays in funding study abroad activities,we will be able to leverage existing resources andbroaden support for international service throughprograms in the U.S. Department of State and theU.S. Department of Education.Promote Opportunities for Americans Age50 and Older to Serve Abroad: We propose toramp up efforts to engage older Americans—thelongest-living, best-educated, wealthiest, andmost highly skilled generations of Americans inour history— in international service to use theirlifetime of experience, skills and knowledge to helpmeet our most pressing problems. We believe theconnection between older Americans and youngerAmericans on international service projects canenhance outcomes and the experiences of thevolunteers.Promote Multi-Lateral Service: We proposeto find the ways and means to enable volunteersfrom the United States to serve side-by-side withvolunteers from host countries and from othercountries. Such multi-lateral service will strengtheninternational bonds among people of differentnations. The proposals by Sargent Shriver andPresident Johnson to host volunteers from othercountries in the United States should be reviewedand seriously considered. In advancing a smallpilot program called Volunteers to America, in1967 President Johnson said that our nation has“no better ambassadors than the… volunteerswho serve in the Peace Corps,” and added: “Ipropose that we welcome similar ambassadorsto our shores. We need their special skills andunderstanding, just as they need ours.”Increase International Service Opportunitiesfor Returning Veterans: Many veterans maintaintheir interest in volunteering after their militaryservice. They have acquired key skills duringtheir service and can be outstanding examplesto young people. The veterans themselves havePeace Corps Volunteer in Malawi, 2009. ©Peace Corps.A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 201131|

easier transitions home when they do volunteer.We propose to utilize the international experienceand leadership skills of veterans to contributeto international development through volunteerservice. Service initiatives such as the Peace Corps,Volunteers for Prosperity, and Global ServiceFellowships should include a number of availablevolunteer positions for recent veterans of war.Partner with the Private Sector: Programsshould draw on the expertise of employees inmultinational companies and businesses that haveinternational and regional volunteering initiatives.International corporate volunteering hubs shouldprovide logistical, program management, publicsector coordination and evaluation support forthose engaging in international volunteering.A shared services model across companies wouldlower costs and reduce risks, while making it easierto identify opportunities, increase sensitivity to localcustoms, and support volunteers on assignment.The increase in corporate engagement will targetnot only current employees, but also retired workersto use their skills and expertise in a service role.Volunteers from companies can gain credentials andacknowledgements for volunteering achievements.Corporations that provide matching funds, enabletime-off for service, deploy their work forces toassist non-profits with capacity-building andstrategic planning, and engage in other innovativepractices that strengthen international volunteerservice should be recognized and best practicesshould be shared.Promote Use of New Technologies toStrengthen Service: Programs should usenew technologies to strengthen internationalvolunteer service. Globally, nearly 27 percent ofthe population uses the Internet and more than60 percent have mobile phones, with the fastestgrowth in the developing world. New models thatuse technology to enhance service are emerging,such as virtual volunteering, collaborative onlinevolunteering, SMS texting to speed healthinformation reporting, geo-location targeting ofneeds with volunteers, and more.Provide Presidential Recognition: Americanvolunteers serving abroad should be able to qualifyfor the President’s Volunteer Service Award. ThisPeace Corps Volunteer in Gambia, 2008. ©Peace Corps.award, which today is given predominantly toAmerican volunteers who serve in the United States,should be expanded to provide recognition at thehighest levels for their commitment to serving theircountry through serving in communities around theworld. As a way to promote excellence in this field,Presidential awards should also be given annuallyto non-government organizations, universities,and corporations with the most outstandinginternational volunteer service programs.Measure the Outcomes of ExpandedInternational Service Opportunities: Weshould ensure accountability for results as we bringinternational volunteer service to a much largerscale. We propose research in three key areas:1) the scope and type of international volunteerservice performed by Americans; 2) the activitiesand outputs generated by international volunteerservice; and 3) information on the impacts ofinternational volunteer service on volunteersthemselves, host organizations and communities.Regular reports should be published and sharedwith policymakers, practitioners, opinion leadersand the public so we can continue to develop U.S.policies that support and improve internationalvolunteer service.| 32A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011

CONCLUSIONThe Peace Corps was a bold experiment, fraught withrisk. It represented an extraordinary leap forward inU.S. policy and embodies a longstanding tradition inAmerican history—one of service to others.The Peace Corps’ mission was and remains to advancepeace. Sargent Shriver in closing his Class Day Remarksat Yale in 1994 said, “I hope you remember to believein things ‘til you die. I hope you remember to be guidedby beliefs powerful enough to change the world. Ihope you remember the example of the Peace CorpsVolunteer, the Head Start parent, the Special Olympicsathlete. They each in their own way are waging peace.”The voices of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers echoand reinforce that sentiment. Their perspectives showthat, through the Peace Corps, the Volunteers haveadvanced three great goals and in doing so theirservice has had a transformative effect on themselves.The Peace Corps should continue to remain a bedrockof international service. For the Peace Corps to growas its founders hoped, it will have to embrace a worldwith more opportunities for international service andenhance its efforts to show the impact the Volunteersare having in meeting its first goal—the need fortrained men and women in host countries to tackle thiscentury’s pressing challenges. On its 50th anniversary,the Peace Corps and the more than 200,000 Volunteersit has mobilized and sent throughout the world have aunique opportunity to seize the moment when idea andfate meet again in a creative hour.“I HOPE YOU REMEMBER TO BELIEVE IN THINGS ‘TIL YOU DIE. I HOPE YOUREMEMBER TO BE GUIDED BY BELIEFS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO CHANGETHE WORLD. I HOPE YOU REMEMBER THE EXAMPLE OF THE PEACE CORPSVOLUNTEER, THE HEAD START PARENT, THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS ATHLETE.THEY EACH IN THEIR OWN WAY ARE WAGING PEACE. MAYBE YOU WILLEVEN REMEMBER ME AND MY FAMILY—MY CHILDREN, MY WIFE, AND MOSTIMPORTANTLY, JACKIE. REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY—OF GIVINGAND RECEIVING—OF LOVE.”—Sargent Shriver, Yale Class Day Speech: May 22, 1994Peace Corps Volunteer in Micronesia and Palau, 2007. ©Peace Corps.A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 201133|

APPENDIX: VOICES OF THE FIRST RETURNED PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERSFor the three-day Citizens in a Time of Changeconference the weekend of March 5-7, 1965, some1,000 Returned Volunteers with 250 leaders of ournational life made their way to Washington, D.C. Atthe opening plenary, in a packed State DepartmentAuditorium, Sargent Shriver began: “Who would havethought three years ago that the Peace Corps wasgoing to take over the State Department?”“We all know that when John Glenn came back fromouter space, the Congress and the people of the UnitedStates listened to him very attentively, because he’dbeen out there. All of you have been out there, in therest of the world. And we need to hear from you. …The real question I think is: What kind of citizens do wewant to have in the United States between 1965 andthe year 2,000? And what specifically are you going tobe able to do about it?”Briefly, Shriver talked about the War on Poverty hewas organizing for the President, and told of anextraordinary experience he had just had in themountains of Maryland near Camp David, visitingwith the first thirty Job Corps Volunteers—poor, outof school, out of work, and, as one seventeen-yearold said, “I thought this was my last chance to makeanything out of my life.”To the Peace Corps conferees, Sarge said: “Theseyoungsters to me are very much like you. As volunteersfrom the disadvantaged part of our society they canunite with you from the advantaged part of our society.Together the two of you can become a giant pincersmovement in a war, converging in the great centerwhich is smug and self-satisfied and complacent.”Then Ethiopia Volunteer Gary Bergthold took thepodium to report answers to questions sent to all ofthe first 3,000 RPCVs. “With the possible exception ofthe astronauts, Peace Corps Volunteers are probablythe most questionnaired group in the United States,”he began. A surprising 2,300 had responded. Ninetypercent said they wanted to attend the Conference.About half wanted to know how they might contributeto the War on Poverty. One of the questions askedhow their resources could be harnessed. The mostcommon reply was that harnessing was the last thingthey wanted. Only six of the total number of thoseresponding said they wanted to enter politics. Formany, a homecoming frustration was that their friendsand family seemed to look upon the world with solittle genuine concern and understanding. When oneVolunteer told a friend he’d been in Ethiopia for twoyears, the response was: “Well, thank goodness youweren’t in Africa!”Next came the first keynoter chosen by the RPCVcommittee organizing the conference, Nigerian RPCVRoger Landrum. “We are sons and daughters ofAmerica but we are in a sense also sons and daughtersof 1,000 towns and villages scattered around theworld,” he said. “I know Nigeria better than I knowKansas, better than my father knows California. TheVolunteers in this room are personally concerned withthe vital interests of the people of 46 nations withwhich our country has had little contact – except for afew economic interests or where Communism scaredus in. The return home faces one with the questionwhether these other interests, so enlarged by ourservice overseas, have any real meaning in America,and for a new career at home.”After other RPCVs also spoke eloquently, therewere talks by Chief Justice Earl Warren, Secretary ofDefense Robert McNamara, and Vice President HubertHumphrey. McNamara was very brief: “We havethree and three-quarter million people in the DefenseDepartment today but I doubt very much that we haveinfluenced the peace of the world as much as the smallhandful of you in this room and your colleagues have.”The Vice President challenged those who said they didnot want to go into politics. “If you think politics is alittle dirty, why don’t you get yourself a bar of IvorySoap and get in and clean it up?” He added: “Youhave lived a richer life… You have had experiencesthat are beyond the imagination of most of yourcontemporaries, and in the main you are better becauseof it and you know it. You have lived a richer life andhave tasted many cultures. You know what John Adamsonce characterized as “the spirit of public happiness.”He quoted President Johnson’s letter asking him toconvene this conference: “The Great Society requiresfirst of all Great Citizens, and the Peace Corps is aworld-wide training school for Great Citizens.”“By 1970,” Humphrey said, “we hope that there willbe about 50,000 back here in the United States.”In a sweeping assessment of the problems needingtheir engagement, he talked of the struggle ahead thatyear to enact a voting rights act as the next stage ofthe civil rights movement, and called on the Volunteersto join also in helping to fulfill the promise of theEconomic Opportunity Act as the opening gun in thewar against poverty.Then, for most of the next two days, the conferencedivided into 24 different discussion groups, eachco-led by a leader in one of our society’s key sectors—including education, business, labor, government, theprofessions—to discuss what they could do for the| 34A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011

country and how to apply their overseas experiencecreatively and successfully in the careers ahead ofthem. Before the conference, more than fifty separatepapers were written and circulated on the workshopsubjects or general questions. Each workshopdeveloped findings and recommendations for actionthat were combined for each major field and reportedin the closing plenary.Large press coverage, including the account ofparticipating media leaders, carried the conferencestory far and wide. In The New Yorker Richard Roveresaid it was “the most informal as well as the liveliestgathering ever to have taken place in that ungainly pileof concrete in the heart of Foggy Bottom.” The SaturdayReview emphasized the Volunteers’ “verve, confidenceand high good humor.”Loud applause by the conferees greeted theannouncement that hundreds of Volunteers werewanted as teachers in Philadelphia, Syracuse, andWashington, D.C. The principal of the CardozoHigh School in the Washington slums, Dr. BennettaWashington, who had enlisted 26 RPCVs to teach there,said, “We are searching for great teachers and we thinkyou are a reservoir of great teachers.” She added, “I donot believe that they themselves know what a catalystfor change they were. They really made education comealive.” Work should be “love made visible,” and theVolunteers “made their love visible.”Afterward, RPCV conference planner Gary Bertholdsaid: “This Conference did a lot more to disturb someof us, to shake us up, than two years in the PeaceCorps.” In planning the Conference, one Volunteerhad asked: “How do we get visions–not just details?”The Conference got both. Planner Roger Landrumconcluded that the whole Peace Corps experience,including the Conference, “is prophetic of institutionsand interactions to come.”Excerpts from the Peace Corps’ report Citizens in aTime of Change, 1965.METHODOLOGYOn behalf of Civic Enterprises and The National PeaceCorps Association, Peter D. Hart Research Associatesconducted 11,138 online interviews among ReturnedPeace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) between March 31and April 4, 2011. RPCVs were asked to participatein the survey through e-mail invitations sent to allmembers of the National Peace Corps Association andthrough notices in online newsletters published by theNational Peace Corps Association. The survey resultswere weighted, based on data provided by the PeaceCorps through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)request, to be representative of the more than 200,000volunteers who have served from 1961 to 2011.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND NOTESThe authors would like to give special thanks to MeganHoot, Frederic Brizzi, Molly Farren, Crystal Anguay,Aaron Gold, and Avery Newton of Civic Enterprises;Erica Burman, Molly Mattessich, and Jonathan Pearsonof the National Peace Corps Association; and GeoffGarin, Leslie Rathjens, and Dan Atkins of Peter D. HartResearch Associates for the creative and cooperativeeffort that led to this report. We would also like tothank Don Gura Graphic Design for designing this report.The authors also would like to thank the members ofthe ServiceWorld coalition, including David Caprara andLex Rieffel of the Brookings Institution, Steve Rosenthalof the Building Bridges Coalition, and Stan Litow, EricMlyn, Phil Noble, Michelle Nunn, Charles Phillips,Jack Sibley, Tim Shriver, Jim Swiderski, officials at theUniversity of Michigan who hosted a 50th Anniversarycelebration of President Kennedy’s announcementthat included ServiceWorld, and the more than 300organizations that helped develop and supportServiceWorld.A CALL TO PEACE SEPTEMBER 2011In addition, we would like to thank the John F. KennedyPresidential Library and Museum for their researchassistance, the Sargent Shriver Peace Institute forthe photos of Shriver, and Cross-Cultural Solutions forour cover photo.This report would not be possible without our leadfunder, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and the generoussupport we received from AARP, the Case Foundation,the Heller School for Social Policy and Management atBrandeis University, the MCJ Amelior Foundation, theSanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, andour partner America’s Promise Alliance.The views reflected in this document are those of theauthors and do not necessarily reflect the views of anyof the above-mentioned individuals or organizations.We also would especially like to thank the more than11,000 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers for theirservice to our nation and world and for sharing theirperspectives through the survey for this report.35|

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This report was made possible through the generous support of our funders.The MCJ Amelior Foundation