January Newsletter: Peace Corps Park starting 2024 off right!
Dear Supporters,
As we begin 2024, I am immensely grateful for the tremendous outpouring of support for Peace Corps Park by this community during our year-end fundraising campaign. Thanks to your partnership, enthusiasm, and generous philanthropy, we have surpassed our 2023 fundraising goal of $2.5 million. We are starting the year well on our way to the $10 million goal that will allow us to break ground on this important project.
With your leadership, Peace Corps Park is not just possible, it is happening!
The Foundation’s capital campaign launched in earnest in 2023, with the first and foremost objective being to raise awareness of Peace Corps Park to lay the groundwork for our long-term mission. To that end, last year I traveled to 25 states to visit with stakeholders from across our community about this project. It was gratifying to hear your ideas and share your excitement as you rallied around our vision.
With the final design nearing completion, we anticipate presenting it to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts for review by midyear. Construction documents will define the work to be done by the contractors involved in bringing the Park to reality. Meanwhile, our team continues to conceptualize the visitor experience, including plans for interfacing our digital companion with the National Park Service’s virtual assistant and wayfinding strategy for the National Mall.
This month, we welcome Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch (Malaysia 1964-66) to the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation Advisory Board. In accepting her nomination, Ambassador Bloch shared her excitement: “I can’t think of a better time for me to rejoin the Peace Corps family. The world needs peace today more than ever. I see Peace Corps Park in the heart of our nation’s capital as a living memorial to inspire the search for world peace through service. Thank you for giving me the privilege of being a part of this great endeavor.”
I am thankful for the visionary leadership of our board of directors and advisory board members, the generous contributions of our supporters, and the extraordinary response of the whole community to this flagship initiative.
Yours in service,
Glenn A. Blumhorst
Chief Advancement Officer
Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation
President and CEO, National Peace Corps Association (2013-22)
RPCV Guatemala (1988-91)
GBlumhorst@PeaceCorpsCommemorative.org
In partnership with the National Park Service
With a commitment to maintaining Peace Corps Park in perpetuity, the National Park Service is a key strategic stakeholder in bringing our vision to our nation's capital. They have been with us throughout the approvals process and have been a valuable thought partner on how to ensure the site lives up to our ambitions to establish a permanent place to inspire generations of Americans around the values of service, partnership and peace.
Central to this effort are the National Park Service’s iPhone and Android apps, which help visitors find their way with interactive maps, park tours and more. We are excited to work with the talented NPS team to ensure that Peace Corps Park is included and highlighted to app users who visit the National Mall, as well as to connect them with the dedicated digital experience that we are working on to bring the Park to life digitally.
We thank Robin Nixon and her whole team at NPS for being such valuable partners and look forward to collaborating even more closely as the park takes shape.
PCCF's Glenn Blumhorst and Roger Lewis with NPS's Robin Nixon (left) and Sophia Kelly
PCCF Welcomes New Advisory Board Member
Our Advisory Board serves the Foundation as a champion for Peace Corps Park. Members share their gifts in service to the Foundation's mission by providing their professional expertise, diverse knowledge of constituent perspectives, connections to local, national, or international resources, colleagues or peers, philanthropic support and many other forms of needed assistance. This month, we welcome Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch to the PCCF Advisory Board.
Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch
is President of the US-China Education Trust, a nonprofit organization working in China to promote US-China relations through education. Ambassador Bloch, the first Asian American to hold such rank in US history, has had an extensive career in international affairs and government service, beginning as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sabah, Malaysia, in 1964, and culminating as US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Nepal in 1989.
From 1981-1988, Ambassador Bloch served at USAID as Assistant Administrator for Food for Peace and Voluntary Assistance and as Assistant Administrator for Asia and the Near East.
She also was the Chief Minority Counsel to a Senate Select Committee, a Senate professional staff member, the Deputy Director of the Office of African Affairs at the US Information Agency, a Fellow of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and an Associate of the US-Japan Relations Program of the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.
After 25 years in government service, she moved to the corporate sector in 1993, becoming Group Executive Vice President at the Bank of America. From 1996-1998, she moved into philanthropy, serving as President and CEO of the United States-Japan Foundation. Beginning in 1998, she shifted her focus to China, first as Visiting Professor at the Institute for International Relations and Executive Vice Chairman of the American Studies Center at Peking University, and subsequently affiliated with Fudan University in Shanghai. A native of China, she grew up in San Francisco and earned a Bachelor's degree in Communications and Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1964, and a Masters degree in Government and East Asia Regional Studies from Harvard in 1967.
¡Adelante Colombia!
For decades, there has been an ongoing debate about which cohort of Peace Corps Volunteers – Colombia I, Ghana I, or Tanganyika (Tanzania) I – was the first to serve when the Peace Corps was established in 1961. But there is no doubt about which group is leading the way in support of Peace Corps Park. Sparked by their excitement about this legacy initiative, the Colombia I returned volunteer cohort – “Los Uneros” – has launched a spirited mini-campaign to raise funds from within their group, aiming for 100 percent participation. Having collectively raised more than $10,000, they are now challenging the Colombia II cohort and the 80 that followed to match or exceed that level. Colombia II currently stands at $7,000 and Colombia VIII is closing in, with $6,250 raised so far.
We’re excited to see how many other volunteer cohorts will rise to the challenge and take inspiration from Colombia’s leadership!
Sargent Shriver with Colombia I volunteers, 1961
Fundraising Update
We continue to make good progress toward our campaign goal of $10 million, surpassing a milestone with $2.5 million, or 25 percent, of our goal committed so far. The Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation gratefully acknowledges the following individuals who have made generous contributions and/or pledges since November 21, 2023.
See the full list of cumulative gifts to the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation on our website.
$25,000 - $49,999
Thomas and Patsy Lightbown*
$10,000 - $24,999
Robert Crooks*
Matthew Essieh*
Franklin Innes*
Diana MacArthur*
Josephine “Jody” Olsen*
JM Zell Partners, Ltd*
$5,000 - $9,999
Donna Anderson*
Johnny Bennett
J.C. Dumestre
Steven and Nancy Fischman
Priscilla Goldfarb*
Sherwood Guernsey
Donald R. and Haideh Lightfoot*
Mike and Natalie Hall
Scott and Muriel Nichols*
$2,500 - $4,999
Anonymous
Deborah Harding
Pete Johnson
Sandra Jaffee
Maddie Kadas
Joseph Kennedy, III*
Raymond and Judith McGuire*
Christopher and Jeannie Siegler
Sarah “Sally” Wells*
$1,000 - $2,499
Frank and Antoinette Almaguer*
Anthony Carroll
Charles and Martha Clifford
Nicholas Craw
Katherine Crosson
Peter Dalum
Karen DeGrange
Martia Glass*
Allan Hall
Lyle Harding
Kathleen Harnig*
Susan Hayes*
Carrie Hessler-Radelet*
Stephan Honore
Barbara Kelly
The Charles R. Larson Fund
Albert “Buster” Lewis
Dennis Lucey
Gwyn and Wilson Mason*
Earl McGinty
Colin Meghoo
Margaret Melun
Nancy Morrin
Marty Mueller
Mary Pendleton*
Murty Polavarapu*
Nancy Polich
Frank Price*
Bruce Richardson
George Scharffenberger
Allen Webb
Aaron Williams*
Jack and Angene Wilson*
Kermit Leslie Young
* New gift in addition to prior gift
Connect with us on social media
Whether or not you’ve been able to support the project with a donation, an easy way to amplify your impact is to give us a boost on your social media platform of choice! Follow us on any of the following networks, and re-share our posts to help raise awareness among your own community.
@PeaceCorpsPark on Facebook
@PeaceCorpsPark on Instagram
@PeaceCorpsPark on Twitter / X
@PeaceCorpsPark on LinkedIn
Connect with us in person
Like I did last year, throughout 2024 I’ll be hosting small gatherings and meeting with key stakeholders around the country to build awareness of Peace Corps Park. I’d love to connect with you or your group in the coming weeks to let you know about the project and our vision for how it will bring our community together once it’s built. Reply to this email and let me know if you’d like to arrange a meeting!
Feb 3 Washington, D.C.: Friends of Tanzania annual potluck
Feb 10 Northern Virginia annual meeting and potluck
Feb 22-26 South Florida
Apr 14-20 Antigua, Guatemala: Guatemala VII, VIII, and IX reunion
June 9-12 San Francisco Bay Area
PCCF's Glenn Blumhorst with the Sacramento Valley RPCVs on Jan. 20, 2024
PEACE CORPS COMMEMORATIVE FOUNDATION
Compassion Generosity Perseverance
Business Address: Attn Bonnie S. Gottlieb
3601 Connecticut Avenue, NW Ste 504
Washington, DC 20008
The Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation is the trade name of the Peace Corps Foundation,
a District of Columbia 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
EIN: 01-0554700
