Peace Corps Week Daily Themes
Although each day of Peace Corps Week has a planned theme, it's up to you to determine how your activities fit best in your schedule. Whether you're an RPCV from China, a PCV in Paraguay, or a proud parent in Minneapolis, feel free to adapt the week's themes and activities to work for you.
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Sunday, February 24, 2013 Grow Your Peace Corps Family Tree
The Peace Corps is a family. There's just no other way to describe the bonds you create when you're making a difference overseas. And that family tree can keep growing back in the U.S. Connect to other RPCVs and connect your community—friends, family, professional and social groups—to Peace Corps service.
- Connect with a Peace Corps-themed group (e.g., RPCVs of Northern California, RPCVs at EPA, Friends of Malawi, NPCA)
- Schedule a social event with your local RPCV group to kick off Peace Corps Week
- Contact your university alumni association and/or magazine and ask how you can share your service experience
- Recommend someone for Peace Corps service through the Increase Peace program
- Become a mentor for an RPCV or mentee
- Organize a gathering with friends and families of current Volunteers
- Develop your own idea for the day’s theme
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Monday, February 25, 2013 Inspire Global Learning
Calling all educators, teachers, mentors, and learners! Aspire to inspire by integrating global issues and cultural awareness into the lives of America's youth. Bring the Peace Corps experience into classrooms and other learning environments by teaching, sharing stories, and using World Wise Schools' resources and materials.
- Reach out to schools in your area and offer to give a presentation about the Peace Corps and your service
- Use remote technologies such as Skype or others to connect learners in the U.S. and host countries overseas
- Enroll in the World Wise Schools Correspondence Match program (for educators and currently serving volunteers)
- Sign up for the World Wise Schools Speakers Match program (for educators and RPCVs)
- Ask your local librarian if you can set up a Peace Corps Corner in the library with displays and books about the Peace Corps experience
- Help promote Correspondence Match and Speakers Match programs to local teachers and school administrators (brochures and other materials can be requested at wwsinfo@peacecorps.gov)
- Develop your own idea for the day’s theme
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Tuesday, February 26, 2013 Share Culture from Around the Globe
You make peace personal for Americans when you share the culture of your country of service. Increase compassion, tolerance, and cultural understanding by introducing your home communities to another nation, and share your story and the stories of your host country community.
- Find a local open-mic event or other storytelling venue and share a piece of your Peace Corps experience in a public space
- Wear traditional attire to work or to school to spark conversation about your country of service
- Post a story, article, or poem about Peace Corps life and/or your country of service to an online forum
- Dust off those slides and scan in your old photos to create an easy-to-share personalized presentation (which you can drop into a Peace Corps PowerPoint)
- Host a movie night for friends and watch a film or documentary from your country of service
- Submit photos and accompanying stories to thirdgoal@peacecorps.gov
- Develop your own idea for the day’s theme
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Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Invite the World to Your Table
Few things occupy a role as fundamental to the human experience as food. In every society, substantial time is spent on its production, preparation, and consumption—activities that form the most basic building blocks of community and culture. Invite the world to your table by cooking, eating, and sharing mealtime customs from abroad with your community here at home.
- Organize a global potluck and ask people to bring their favorite international dishes
- Teach your American friends, family, colleagues, or students how to make a traditional dish or beverage
- Research and present information and statistics about hunger, waste, and/or malnutrition to a local audience
- Host a Peace Corps night at a local restaurant that serves food from a Peace Corps country
- Teach community members in America about food production techniques and farming practices in your country of service
- Develop your own idea for the day’s theme
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Thursday, February 28, 2013Foster Global Citizenship
Peace Corps Volunteers are global citizens who both know the world and make a difference at home through civic engagement. Foster global citizenship in your community by letting others know how the Peace Corps transformed you and how you are continuing to serve.
- Write a letter to the editor of a local or national publication telling a story about your service that demonstrates the impact of the Peace Corps
- Reach out to a local civic community group and offer to be a guest speaker to share your Peace Corps experience
- Call your local radio station and encourage them to run Peace Corps Public Service Announcements (PSAs) during Peace Corps Week
- Connect with grassroots organizations that help combat poverty and improve lives around the world
- Develop your own idea for the day’s theme
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Friday, March 1, 2013 (Happy Birthday, Peace Corps!)Champion RPCVs as Global Professionals – Take an RPCV to Work Day
For more than 50 years, returned Peace Corps Volunteers have applied the skills they honed throughout their service to rewarding careers in a wide array of industries. Today, Peace Corps Volunteers continue to make a difference in the U.S. as they return home with 21st century job skills, such as language expertise and technical training. Spread the word that RPCVs are highly qualified leaders and entrepreneurs.
- Participate as a host or guest in “Take an RPCV to Work Day”
- Talk with your colleagues, neighbors, etc., about how easy it is to find talented RPCVs to hire and direct them to RPCV Career Link: www.peacecorps.gov/rpcvcareerlink
- Link to other RPCVs for professional connections on social networking platforms
- Organize a brown-bag lunch at your workplace to share your Peace Corps stories with colleagues, or invite an RPCV to share his or her experience working in a different culture
- Establish a professional mentoring relationship with an RPCV
- Write a blog post or letter to the editor of your newspaper explaining how the skills you learned during Peace Corps service helped advance your career or how an RPCV influenced your career
- Tag your organization or business as an “RPCV-friendly” workplace on your website or in social media
- Develop your own idea for the day’s theme
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Saturday, March 2, 2013Act Locally, Influence Globally
Peace Corps Volunteers make a difference in communities overseas through sustainable projects that have tangible results. Make a difference here at home by volunteering your time to support organizations in your community.
- Organize a group (e.g., RPCVs, coworkers, classmates, host country nationals) to volunteer together on a local service project
- Find an inspiring Peace Corps Partnership Program (PCPP) project and promote it to your friends, family, and community
- Pitch a story discussing Peace Corps service and volunteerism in general to your local newspaper or magazine
- Talk to local groups about the environment in your country of service and plant 52 trees in honor of the Peace Corps’ 52nd anniversary
- Pledge 52 volunteer hours of service for the year; find a local opportunity at www.serve.gov
- Develop your own idea for the day’s theme
Last updated Jan 22 2013
