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JUNE 2008
Corps to respond to the more than 20countries that have requested programs forwhich there are insufficient funds. Comeand learn more about this exciting advocacyinitiative and learn how you can becomeinvolved.
We extend a special invitation to all of the"Friends of" Groups in the area to come tothis year's Partnership Reception.
 Comeand introduce yourself to our members,taking this opportunity to informally discussour mutual goals and events for the comingyear.All of the donations that you can give at thePartnership Reception and through ourwebsite will go to support Sarah's project inCape Verde. We hope that you will givegenerously.Please check out our website and list servefor more details we look forward toseeing you there!Best regards,Jim Gore, PresidentMolly Mattessich, Vice-President
Celebrating RPCVw and Peace CorpsPartnerships!RPCVw Peace Corps PartnershipReception
 
Date:
Thursday, June 26 from 6-9pm
Location:
TORO Mata The Art of Peru,2410 18th Street NW, Washington, DC20009
You are invited to a special celebration of  Partnerships.
 As a Board, we decided thatwe wanted to incorporate the idea of a"Partnership Reception" to be about all kindsof RPCVw Partnerships: Our organization'ssupport of a Peace Corps Project as well as avenue to gather with other groups in the areawith which we can form partnerships.This year we are supporting a volunteer,Sarah Mendelsohn, who is helping hervillage in Cape Verde to build solar panelsfor a community center. More informationabout Sarah's project can be found on theRPCVw website. We are asking you todonate what you can to help with this greatproject. See below for a special messagefrom Sarah.
 
 
 
Returned Peace Corps Volunteers ofWashington Annual Picnic!
Where:
 The Capital Yacht Club : 1000 WaterStreet, SW Washington, D.C.,20024
When:
 Saturday, July 12, 2008 
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Please join us for this fun, family-friendly event atthe DC waterfront. This will be the lastopportunity to meet and vote for the candidatesfor next year's RPCV/W board. Don't miss out!Chef Kyle will once again be dazzling our palateswith treats from the grill and our friends atProfessionals for Non Profits will be picking upthe drinks and offering their career services.Tickets are $15 for members of RPCV/W, $20 fornonmembers and $5 for kids under 10 years old.Tickets will be available for purchase on www.rpcvw.org in the next week. Hope to seeyou all there!Please contact specialevents@rpcvw.org withany questions.
Words From Returned Volunteer Services
A few things from Peace Corps and theOffice of Domestic Programs withinformation of interest to RPCVs
 
The Peace Corps recently welcomed the Universityof Maryland, College Park as its newest
Fellows/USA partner school
. The campus joinsmore than 45 other institutions in offering theFellows/USA option to returned Peace CorpsVolunteers. College Park
 
s program, housed in the
Maryland School of Public Policy, will grantsuccessful Fellows master
s degrees in eitherpublic policy or publicmanagement
. Volunteerswho have satisfactorily completed their PeaceCorps service will be eligible for the programwhich, besides class work towards the degree, willinclude work with high-needs populations in andaround the College Park area. Work placementswill be coordinated in concert with the CommunityPartners Program of the Engaged University.
 
 
Fellows will receive a half graduate assistantshipwhich carries a yearly stipend of $6,350 and fivecredits of tuition remission per semester. All othercredits will be charged in-state tuition rates.Fellows/USA participants will also be eligible forother merit-based assistantships. More informationcan be found at
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.press.view&news_id=1345.
 
The Peace Corps
Master
s International programcombines graduate school with Peace Corpsservice
. Typically, students complete one year of graduate school and then serve 27 months inthe Peace Corps, after which they return to theuniversity to complete any remaining degreerequirements. More than 50 universities currentlypartner with the program. Among these are six inthe greater Washington DC area: AmericanUniversity, George Mason, George Washington,University of Maryland College Park, University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Johns HopkinsUniversity. Virginia Tech is also a participatingschool.
 
In many of these MI schools,
RPCVs play animportant role in attracting students to theschool
s program as well as in retaining theirinterest in the Peace Corps
while they are takingcourses prior to going overseas. If you areinterested in being a part of this in any way, pleasecontact Eric Goldman at 202-692-1896 or ategoldman@peacecorps.gov.
 
Chris Gilson became the Regional OfficeManager of Peace Corps
Mid-Atlantic RegionalRecruiting Office in April 2008
, overseeingrecruitment, management and outreach activities forWashington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia,Delaware and North Carolina. He served as aVolunteer in Ecuador from 1984-1986, working onwater and sanitation projects. Following that heattended graduate school and then worked forCatholic Relief Services for over 14 years.
Chriswarmly welcomes the support andcollaboration of the Returned Peace CorpsVolunteers of Washington, DC and invitesRPCVs in the area to: 1) take advantage of thecareer development resources located in theRosslyn office; and 2) to help supportrecruiting efforts in the region
. Please contacthim at 202-692-1040 for further details.
 
Robert Michon
 
Assistant Director
 
Office of Domestic Programs
 
Returned Volunteer Servicesand Peace Corps Week
 
202-692-1441
 
 
 
A Recap of the RPCVwAnnualCherry Blossom Potluck Picnic
 By: Corey Taylor 
Although the actual number of attendees was lowerthan in previous years, RPCVWs Annual CherryBlossom Potluck Picnic was formidable in terms of pure entertainment and interesting new friendshipsmade
.
On the afternoon of Saturday March 29th,approximately 17 RPCVs arrived at the JeffersonMemorial and partook in cheeses, fruit salads,beverages and Safeway sandwiches that would haveproven massive even for Dagwood Bumstead. Thesurrounding cherry blossomsenshrined each tree like droplets of pearls andrubies, while tourists clicked away with their camerasand recording devices to preserve the images of florabeyond their brief annual appearance. The wave of pedestrians made it somewhat difficult for us to findeach other initially, but after a period of time wemanaged to rely on the instinctual tracking skills (cellphones) that permit folks of our legion to find eachother in a public space of hundreds.Providing informal entertainment for our picnickingcrew were members of the self-declared Lost Tribe of Israel, a religious commune of young men and womenfrom Virginia, whose Earthy and gregarious natureharked back to a time when their beards and long hairwould have linked hand and hand to 1960s peace andflower power. The Lost Tribe were a festive clan,expressing themselves through jam sessions of circular group dancing, banjo & guitar playing, and ahealthy helping of bass drums. They were setting uptheir instruments next to our picnic blankets andkindly asked if they could perform next to us weinformed them that it wouldnt be an issue.After several renditions of Hava Nagila, themembers of the Lost Tribe shared their herbal tea withus the brew was made of flowers and plants wellbeyond the conventional Celestial Seasoning productsfound in the supermarket. Despite the strongaftertaste, a few of us had more than one cup. We, inturn, shared the customary delicacy of RPCVsstore bought fruit salad. Afterwards, several of ustraversed through the adoring blossoms groupies,snapping pictures of our own and still savoring theaftertaste of flowered tea and commune musicians.
 
RPCVw Cinco de Mayo Style
By: Lesley Pories
Over 30 RPCVs and friends celebrated Cincode Mayo in style with a cooking class led byRPCVw's favorite chef, Kyle Vermeulen.Margaritas and Mexican beer flowed as Kyleinstructed the group on the art of preparing anumber of tasty dishes, from a yummy goatcheese/crab/avocado dip, mango salsa toshrimp quesadillas, tortilla soup and a mangorice pudding."It was great," said Julia Strange (Uzbekistan03-05). "I love getting the chance to cook newdishes, and I think I'll be able to do some of these at home. We should do this again."Cooking itself was a shared experience underVermeulen's skillful guidance. Faced with alarge group, relatively limited space and noprep time, the chef managed everything toeveryone's complete satisfaction. Not a RPCVhimself, Kyle still fits in well with a crowd thatis used to making the most of anycircumstance."I like challenges," he explained. "They keepme on my toes."This probably explains why Vermeulen hascatered the Annual Holiday Party and AnnualPicnic for several years running, and still likesto work with us.Not a soul left the class on an empty stomach,and some carried tupperware with leftoverfood back home.If we're lucky, this event will happen againnext year.
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