Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Headquarters | 1111 20th Street, NW | Washington, D.C. 20526 | 1.800.424.8580 | www.peacecorps.

gov
Peace Corps
Info Brief
2013

V
2
Volunteerism


Overview of the Peace Corps and V
2
Volunteerism

The V
2
Volunteerism Programming Priority builds on the
mandate in the Peace Corps Act to establish programs
that foster volunteer service to meet host country needs.
When appropriate, V
2
efforts integrate service-learning
into education and community development activities so
millions of host country community members, especially
youth, will have greater opportunity, capacity, and
motivation to engage in voluntary activities. Through
service, Volunteers engage with community members to
strengthen communities, meet real development
priorities, and build relevant skills in the process. V
2

promotes volunteerism across each Peace Corps sector:
Agriculture, Community Economic Development,
Education, Environment, Health, and Youth in
Development.



What we do Through V
2
Volunteerism
The Peace Corps supports V
2
in the following ways:

Engage youth to lead positive change in their communities: Volunteers in all sectors promote the
personal and collective value of service with a specific focus on young people developing their
leadership skills while activating positive change.

Strengthen national service corps programs and volunteer networks: Post staff members and
Volunteers play an important role in supporting host country government efforts or nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) to coordinate volunteer efforts in the country.

Bolster education through service learning: Volunteers work with education partners to develop
the capacity of teachers and schools to implement effective service learning approaches.

Leverage days of service to jump-start longer-term volunteering: Global Youth Service Day,
World AIDS Day, International Womens Day, International Volunteer Day, and Earth Day activities
are a great way to emphasize the important role that Volunteers play in addressing specific
development issues.



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2
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Our Approach

Peace Corps V
2
emphasizes a four-pillar approach:

1. Opportunities for host country individuals,
especially youth, to participate in volunteer activities;

2. Motivation to experience the personal and
collective benefits of service;

3. Capacity to develop the leadership and
organizational ability of partners to mobilize and
leverage volunteers effectively; and

4. Infrastructure to support the institutional aspects of volunteer programs, networks, and service corps,
primarily through Peace Corps Response, third-year Volunteers, or post staff participation.

The V
2
Volunteerism Action Guide: Multiplying the Power of Service is the key resource that
Volunteers and their partners use to facilitate and promote service activities. Available in Arabic,
Armenian, Bahasa Indonesian, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, and Ukrainian, the material can
be adopted by host country partner organizations to support their own efforts to mobilize young people to
volunteer.


Highlights from FY 2013

Community Economic Development
In Kyrgyz Republic, four Volunteers organized the Deserving Futures Youth Volunteerism
Conference to teach basic community organization and project planning skills to Kyrgyz teens.
Nominated to represent his or her school, each youth participant generated an action plan to take back
and implement in her/his community. A follow-up conference expanding on the teens projects and
lessons learned is planned for the future.

In Guinea, at the request of the president of a local
lending association, a Volunteer created a leadership
development program for association members to
help promote mutual accountability. Using
volunteerism as a theme, the program focused on
outstanding leaders and the impact individual actions
can have when working for a common cause.
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Education
In Georgia, 17 Volunteers collaborated with their counterpart organizations to establish
Volunteerism Fairs that reached more than 1,000 people. Fair activities included training sessions on
volunteerism, film series, and discussion groups on such topics as volunteer recruitment, rewarding
volunteers, and training methods. As a result, several students were matched with local NGOs for
volunteer opportunities.

Health

In Burkina Faso, 44 youth, aged 17-24, participated in a four-day Youth Leadership and Citizenship
Conference that focused on community engagement and volunteerism. Topics covered included
HIV/AIDS, family planning, water, sanitation and hygiene, and healthy lifestyles. The youth also
learned how to conduct a needs assessment, mobilize their communities, identify resources, and
implement project plans. Each participant developed an action plan to serve as a driving force for
positive change in his or her home community.


In Peru, a Volunteer formed a peer educator volunteer group to train youth to be leaders and health
promoters. This was done in collaboration with a local health center and high school. Youth facilitate
talks and discussions with their peers on topics ranging from values, decision making, gender,
anatomy, pregnancy, family planning, sexually-transmitted illnesses (STIs), HIV/AIDS, domestic
violence, leadership, and volunteerism.


Environment
In Costa Rica, 13 Volunteers helped local children and youth carry
out a variety of service learning projects centered on environmental
awareness. Youth led tree planting and reforestation projects,
established recycling programs in their high schools, coordinated
communitywide trash collection projects, and launched organic
farming initiatives.

In Ethiopia, Volunteers used environmental clubs to organize nature
walks. Such walks encourage youth to examine environmental issues
that impact their communities. The youth then brainstorm ideas on
how they can help their communities and families address such
concerns. Topics range from gender to pollution to volunteerism. Club
members continue to recruit more students and community members to
fuel their action and increase awareness.


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Youth Development
In Paraguay, the National Volunteerism
Conference is sponsored by the organization
Somos Voluntarios por un Paraguay Mejor
and convenes participants and facilitators from
local and international service organizations.
Twenty-five Volunteers and 130 partner
community leaders and youth participated in
the conference to support increased
volunteerism through such local and
international organizations as World Wildlife
Fund, Boy Scouts, the Red Cross, and others.



In Jordan, a Volunteer facilitated an Earth Day cleanup event as part of an ongoing service learning
project. Throughout the project, 45 participants from a girls center discussed litter management in
their community and ways to demonstrate community pride. They also planted trees and flowers
around the girls center.

Additional Peace Corps
Background
The Peace Corps was established in 1961 by
President John F. Kennedy with a mission to
promote world peace and friendship through
the service of American volunteers abroad.
Today, more than 7,200 Volunteers are
working with local communities in 65 host
countries in the areas of Agriculture,
Community Economic Development,
Education, Environment, Health, and Youth
in Development. Most Volunteers settle in
hard-to-reach or marginalized communities
for two years, learning the local language
and working side by side with local partners
to find sustainable solutions to the
challenges faced in these areas. Volunteers
help communities leverage appropriate local
resources and technology to address needs.