WorldView Magazine: RPCV Groups
Garden of Refuge
As part of our commitment to continued service, the Seattle Peace Corps Association (SEAPAX) is partnering with World Relief Western Washington to support a refugee community garden. For the last five years, teams of SEAPAX Volunteers have worked in the garden, clearing weeds in the spring to ready the beds for the planting season and planting cover crops in the fall to prepare them for winter.
Plains to the Pacific
Individual actions are the building blocks to continued success. As the following updates show, when our community is mobilized, we can reach every part of this country. Here are a few examples of how local and state-based advocacy can advance our cause. This not only includes NPCA’s ongoing Stand Up for Service campaign, but, critically, our annual National Days of Advocacy in Support of the Peace Corps. During this year’s event, advocacy leaders in more than 30 states carried out close to a hundred successful activities throughout March and April.
The Domestic Dividend: Part I
How do you measure the value of transformation? Ask almost any RPCV if their service was worth it and you get a resounding “Yes.” But ask the average American taxpayer and you may get a different answer.
Meet Them Where They’re At
Earlier this month, Friends of Tonga launched Tau Laukonga, an exciting pair of Tongan and English reading apps aimed at supporting literacy across both the Kingdom of Tonga and the Tongan diaspora. Each app offers 100+ fun, culturally-relevant books across various difficulty levels, topics, and genres. Moreover, the majority of available books also feature read-along audio narration recorded by native speakers. Tau Laukonga was developed by current Tonga PCV and Friends of Tonga Officer Andrew Pavey, who currently is serving in the village of Houma, Tongatapu. Pavey decided to develop the project when he noticed his students’ low achievement rates...
Ubuntu in Action
Last month, the Museum of the Peace Corps Experience (MPCE) launched its first exhibit of 2025, Ubuntu in Action: Exploring the Peace Corps and Shared Humanity, hosted by the International Peace Museum in Dayton, Ohio. This inspiring exhibit delves into the spirit of service, cultural exchange, and the interconnectedness of all people and is the centerpiece of the two museums’ celebration of the Season for Non-Violence accompanied by an engaging series of online and in-person programs running through April.
Women, Wellness, and Change
The Ruppe Award for Outstanding Community Service is a prestigious honor presented annually by the National Peace Corps Association to RPCV affiliate groups. Named after the respected 10th director of the Peace Corps, Loret Miller Ruppe, this award celebrates initiatives that embody the Peace Corps’ mission to pro- mote cultural understanding, collaboration, and volunteer- ism. The award aims to highlight impactful projects that uphold the Third Goal of the Peace Corps: “Bringing the world back home” through community service and international understanding. The award also serves as a model for other RPCV groups to emulate in their own communities. At...
Work Huddle
For many Peace Corps Volunteers closing out their service, returning to the United States can be an overwhelming experience. But two years of service in a host country cultivates a broad range of skills valuable to federal agencies that offer an opportunity to continue serving the public. That’s why numerous Returned Peace Corps Volunteers embark on a career with the federal government; in addition, these positions offer community based on shared experiences through RPCV workplace affinity groups. “The purpose of the [workplace] affinity groups is to create a community of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers,” said Colleen Dundas (Malawi 2013–15). “It’s...
Common Cause
Returned Peace Corps Volunteers have many things in common: extraordinary experiences, deep friendships, and for many, a spirit of generosity that endures long after their service ends. Thankfully, there are dozens of RPCV groups centered around causes and shared affinities, whether empowering women or resettling refugees, which offer former Volunteers the opportunity to get involved and do what they do best: help people to help themselves. Here are five RPCV groups that illustrate the range of causes that have been taken up by the Peace Corps community. Women of Peace Corps Legacy In 1961, the only surefire way women could...
Location, Location, Location
It’s early December in northern Florida, and the parking lot at John Wesley United Methodist Church is filled with shoppers from Tallahassee and the surrounding Big Bend region. They walk the aisles learning about the 20-plus not-for-profit organizations seeking donations to support their work with the neediest. The annual Alternative Christmas Market has been going strong for the past 36 years, and the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of North Florida (RPCV/NF) has been a key partner in this effort for the past two decades. Group members volunteer to host a table and speak with the public about Peace Corps while...
Country Connections
For many Peace Corps Volunteers, the end of service and the return to the “real world” is a double-edged sword: we’re tired of stomach viruses and happy to once again have access to sushi delivery, but we’re also committed to service and the well-being of the friends and neighbors we left behind. The deep and multifaceted connection we have to our host countries doesn’t stop when we step off the airplane upon returning home, and it’s here that country-based RPCV groups step in, helping us to keep that connection fresh and continue to make an impact long after we leave....
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