Committee for a
Museum of the Peace Corps Experience

July, 2003

Dear Fellow RPCV,

On October 14, 1960, President Kennedy issued a challenge to young Americans everywhere to serve their country through volunteer action. In fact, some of you reading this letter were present as students at the University of Michigan when the future President of the United States announced his idea for a bold and innovative experiment he called The Peace Corps. Today, more than 40 years later that bold experiment continues in over 70 nations around the world utilizing the talents and skills of over 4,000 volunteers. Each of those volunteers is developing skills and experiences that will last a lifetime.

Do you remember your days as a Peace Corps Volunteer? Did you know that to date over 165,000 American’s have answered Kennedy’s call to public service?

Yet, 40 years after that landmark speech on the steps of the Student Union at theUniversityofMichigan, the mission of the Peace Corps remains only partially realized. As you remember, the Peace Corps was established

• to promote world peace and friendship through voluntary action;
• to help promote a better understanding of the American people on the part of the peoples served;
• to promote a better understanding of other people by the American people.

While the Peace Corp is very successful at fulfilling most of Kennedy’s vision, the third goal of the mission—the promotion of a better understanding of other peoples by Americans—continues to lag behind.

We need your help to realize the full potential of the Peace Corps Mission. As a Retuned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV), you have the background to help us create the Museum of the Peace Corps Experience.

As the Peace Corps enters its fifth decade, there is a wealth of stories that should be shared with a wider audience.  This proposed permanent museum will:

• Bring many unknown or misunderstood cultures home to Americans, and especially the children,
• Provide permanent and rotating exhibitions featuring and interpreting the art and artifacts that reflect the lifestyles of various countries around the world;
• Mount traveling exhibits, working with returned volunteer groups to bring Peace Corps stories into many communities around the country
• Serve as a repository for the memories and memorabilia of Returned Peace Corp Volunteers.

The Museum of the Peace Corps Experiencewill not only celebrate the cultures of the world, but the story of the Peace Corps itself.
Planning for the new museum is under way. The Organizing Committee has already developed and opened two exhibits featuring the traditional folk arts of other cultures. Please see our website http://www.peacecorpsmuseum.org for further information.

Workshops supported by the Regional Arts and Culture Council here in Portland have enabled the Committee to explore museum development issues with a museum planner and consultant.

But, to make this happen we need your financial support. Grants alone cannot sustain this important effort. A financial gift from you at this time is critical to keeping the dream alive.

Your gift, be it $1 or $100, when combined with gifts from other Returned Peace Corps Volunteers like yourself, will enable the Committee to

Begin development of the materials needed to promote the vision of a new museum,

• Rent space to receive and catalogue art and artifacts from RPCV’s around the country,
• Provide needed matching funds for foundation grant support,
• Hire museum experts to help develop our museum concept.

Please send your tax-deductible contribution to

CMPCE,
P. O. Box 14861,
Portland,OR97293

Thank you for your support and your service,
 
Martin Kaplan (Somalia ’62 – 64))
Vice President of the Organizing Committee
website: http://www.peacecorpsmuseum.org
phone 503-699-9833

Board of Directors
Mike Renning, (Niger ‘95-‘98), President
Martin Kaplan (Somali Rep. ‘62-‘64), Vice President
Nicole Dino, (Ecuador‘94-‘97), Secretary
Artigas Bonifacio, (Panama‘00-‘02), Treasurer
Bill Stein (Niger‘90-93)
Ron Myers (Malaysia‘72-‘74)
Melody Finnemore (Suriname’00-02)
Barry Finnemore (Suriname‘00-‘02)
Stephanie Harris (Mali ‘98-‘99)
 
Advisory Board
Jennifer Froistad, President, Ecotrust,Portland OR
Jackie Goldrick, President, Harambee Centre,PortlandOR
Albert Gordon, Origins Gallery, Stockbridge MA
Robert Gould, Philosophy,Portland State University
Gretchen Kafoury,PortlandCity Council (ret.)
Roberta Wong, IFCC,PortlandOR

Honorary Members
Senator Gordon Smith
Senator Ron Wyden