A Call to Peace - Civic Enterprises

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|