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November/December 2006 Newsletter

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Meeting Information

Mark your calendars!  Our next RPCV-SA Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, November 18, 2006 at 6 pm.  Come join us at Pam and Phil Lopes' home (with your family, friends, and a dish of food to share), located at 1421 N. Camino de Juan.  To get there drive west on Speedway, pass Greasewood, and just as the road merges to one lane you will come to Camino de Juan.  Take a right and the Lopes house is the last house on the left side.  Meetings are potluck/socials.

Hayden Gore <hayden_lisa@mac.com> wrote:

To: rpcvtucson@yahoo.com
From: Hayden Gore <hayden_lisa@mac.com>
Subject: Announcing the RPCV Podcast
Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 01:19:14 -0500

I am an RPCV (Guatemala 2002-2004) at the University of Denver's Graduate School of International Studies, and I've recently created a podcast featuring interviews with RPCVs from around the world. I conceived of the RPCV Podcast as a way to achieve the Peace Corps's third goal by providing a medium for volunteers to tell their stories.

I would love to share the project with you and your members because I think you will find the interviews interesting, engaging, and entertaining. But there is another reason: I depend on RPCVs' and their willingness to submit themselves to a friendly interview in order to produce an episode for the podcast every two weeks. At the Graduate School, we have over 60 RPCVs, so it is obviously an enormous resource; however, my ultimate goal is to interview RPCVs who have served in every decade of the Peace Corps's existence. I imagine many of your members might fit that description, and I would be thrilled to collaborate with them, if they were so willing.

The link to the RPCV Podcast is: http://web.mac.com/hayden_lisa

I would appreciate it if you would link the site to your webpage. The following is a short description of its content:

The RPCV Podcast brings you interviews with Returned Peace Corps Volunteers from around the world. Whether you have an interest in a certain region, enjoy world travel, have served or are interested in serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer, the RPCV Podcast will provide you with a unique perspective from volunteers living and working in the far reaches of the globe.

Please visit the site, and let me know what you think.

Thanks so much,

Hayden Gore
RPCV Guatemala 2002-2004

--------------------------------------------

Ben Guest mtc@olemiss.edu wrote:

I'm an RPCV (Namibia, Group 11, 1998-1999) who now runs a two-year teaching program, the Mississippi Teacher Corps, based in the Mississippi Delta. Many RPCV's have served in our program, and we place a lot of emphasis on Peace Corps service when looking at applicants.

If you are interested please visit our website, or email me at mtc@olemiss.edu. You can apply online at: http://www.msteachercorps.com/mtcapplication/application.aspx
Participants teach for two years in the Delta and receive full pay and benefits, a full scholarship for a master's degree, teacher certification, and, of course, the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children in one of the poorest areas of the country. You do not need to have an education background or teaching experience to be eligible.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Ben Guest
Program Manager
Mississippi Teacher Corps
Email: mtc@olemiss.edu
Website: www.mtcorps.net
Phone: 662-915-5224

 

RPCV-SA Activities:

From the Prez, Catherine North:

Dear Fellow RPCVs,

What a great turnout in September!  Thank you to those who came, and we hope to see those of you who couldn’t make it at the next meeting. 

At the September meeting, we told you about a change in how the Fourth Avenue Merchants’ Association (FAMA) will be organizing the next Fourth Avenue Street Fair.  They have contracted with the T-shirt company not only to make the T-shirts but to sell them, too.  As you can imagine, that leaves us up in the air.  Tracey Purcell, who has been our primary contact with FAMA for years, has been working hard to keep us involved.  We will be holding a meeting with the new director of the Street Fair in the coming weeks, and we’ll update you at the November 18th meeting about the progress.  Please come ready to sign up for volunteering at the December fair.

Lastly, if you have friends who are RPCVs but aren’t active in the group, I encourage you to bring them to a meeting.  We’d love to increase our impact by growing our group.

I look forward to seeing you in November.

Peace,

Catherine

From the Trea$urer, Courtney Martin:

Our current account balances are Checking: $1,030 and
Savings $705.

As a reminder Peace Corps calendars are for sale for a
mere $8!! Please contact me (cemartin79@yahoo.com)
directly, or bring some extra cash to the next
meeting.

At the September meeting, only 10 members renewed
their local dues. As a reminder, the cost of a local
membership is ONLY $15 and all of the dues go directly
to funding Peace Corps Partnership projects. It's well
worth it! I hope to have more people renew, or join
for the first time, at the next meeting.

Finally I would like to thank Lou Tudor for making a
personal donation to the group at our last meeting.
Following the suggestion that we solicit donations
from our members, Lou stepped up and made the first
contribution.

The Southern Arizona Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and donations
may be tax deductible. Anyone who makes a donation
will receive a letter from our group as a
confirmation.

From the community Services Coordinator, Jennifer Dederich:

Community Service Activities

October 14th our group volunteered with Habitat for Humanity at their Laguna/Balboa location here is Tucson. About 10 RPCV's showed up to paint and hammer nails . Thanks to everyone that came out at 7am on a Saturday morning. Our next community service event will be sometime in December with the Latin American Social Club or better known as the "Bike Project". I will contact the club and have more details at the next meeting.

On November 18th the Cienega Corridor Conservation Council is hosting a Tamarisk removal at the Cienega Creek watershed. Many of hese invasive trees were recently cut down in the watershed, and they need help relocating the brush to stabilize the banks of the Creek. Get the details here.

National RPCV News:

New Director for National Peace Corps Association:

Ron Tschetter (India 66-68) Confirmed to Lead Peace Corps


On September 26 Returned Peace Corps volunteer Ronald A. Tschetter was sworn in as the 17th director of the Peace Corps. Director Tschetter, who was nominated by the president on July 25, was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 13.

Both Ron and his wife Nancy served as Peace Corps volunteers in India from 1966 to 1968. Ron’s appointment will mark the third time a returned Peace Corps volunteer serves in that position. Ron also knows NPCA well: he served on the NPCA board from 1993 to 1999, as board chairman from 1995 to 1998 and as an honorary board member from 2000to 2003. He is currently a Director’s Circle member.


Ben Ellis <advocintern2@rpcv.org> wrote:

From: "Ben Ellis" <advocintern2@rpcv.org>
To: <rpcvtucson@yahoo.com>
CC: <daniel.brito@mail.house.gov>
Subject: Tucson Rep signs onto Peace Corps funding letter
Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2006 11:35:34 -0400

Dear Tucson Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Group Leader,

I am happy to tell you that the following member of the House of Representatives from Tucson has signed onto a “Dear Colleague” letter (attached), asking the President to request robust funding for Peace Corps when he submits his Fiscal Year 2008 Budget to Congress.

Raul Grijalva

Please share this news with your members. Thank you for your efforts and have a great day.

Ben Ellis
Advocacy Intern
National Peace Corps Association
1900 L Street NW, Suite 205
Washington, DC 20036
202-293-7728
fax: 202-293-7554
advocintern2@rpcv.org
http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/advocacy