A Call to Peace - Civic Enterprises

More documents

Recommendations

Info

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|
Page 1 and 2: A Call to PeacePerspectives of Volu
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction . . .
Page 5: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYTHE PEACE CORPS EX
Page 9 and 10: WAYS FORWARDIn anticipation of the
Page 11: A CALL TO PEACEThis report is not a
Page 15 and 16: Those serving in predominantly Musl
Page 17 and 18: Peace Corps to set the goals of the
Page 19 and 20: TODAY, 22 PERCENT OF ALL PEACE CORP
Page 21 and 22: A TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCEThe over
Page 23 and 24: Figure 15: Regions by Decade of Ser
Page 25 and 26: Confidential. Embargoed until Septe
Page 27 and 28: women who reported feeling unsafe a
Page 29 and 30: While RPCVs recognized the need for
Page 31 and 32: Below are core principles and propo
Page 33 and 34: The Peace Corps, Volunteers for Pro
Page 35 and 36: CONCLUSIONThe Peace Corps was a bol
Page 37 and 38: country and how to apply their over
Page 39 and 40: Schwarz, K. (1991). What You Can Do

A Call to Peace - Civic Enterprises

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?