FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, September 14, 1998

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Queen Noor of Jordan To Dedicate New Peace Corps Headquarters on September 15

Washington, D.C., September 14, 1998—First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan will be guests of honor tomorrow at the dedication of the new Peace Corps headquarters in downtown Washington. Mrs. Clinton will also launch the agency\'s new recruitment campaign and newly designed World Wide Web site. "The generation of Peace Corps volunteers who will serve in the new millennium are the leaders of the future," said Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan. "As the world becomes smaller, Peace Corps volunteers are strengthening the ties of friendship and cross-cultural understanding between Americans and the people of other countries. By helping people help themselves, the work these volunteers do in developing countries will pave the way for generations to come." Mrs. Clinton and Queen Noor are strong supporters of the Peace Corps. When the first group of volunteers left for Jordan in April 1997, Mrs. Clinton hosted a send-off ceremony at the White House. She has also visited Peace Corps volunteers in more than 13 countries. As a young girl growing up in the United States, Queen Noor wanted to become a Peace Corps volunteer. More recently, she was instrumental in bringing the first Peace Corps volunteers to her country. She has established a foundation to help poor women in rural Jordan and several Peace Corps volunteers are working with the foundation.
A Full Day of Events The new Peace Corps building is located at 1111 20th Street, NW, in downtown Washington. The dedication ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, September 15. Mrs. Clinton will also dedicate Shriver Hall, a multi-purpose visitors center in the new building named in honor of the first Peace Corps Director, R. Sargent Shriver. The visitors center will allow visitors and school groups to learn more about the Peace Corps\' history, world geography, and other cultures. A panel discussion focusing on volunteerism will begin at 2 p.m. Panelists include Director Gearan, Congressman Harold E. Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.), Harris Wofford, CEO of the Corporation for National Service, Vanessa Kirsch, president and founder of New Profit Inc., Stephen Friedman, vice president of public affairs for MTV, writer and editor Eric Liu, and Ursula Hawe, a Peace Corps volunteer from San Francisco who is now serving in Jordan. At 5 p.m., a reception will be held for friends of the Peace Corps and returned Peace Corps volunteers. Since 1961, more than 150,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps, serving in 132 nations. Currently, more than 6,500 Peace Corps volunteers are working in 80 countries around the world to bring clean water to communities, teach children, protect the environment, help start new small businesses, and prevent the spread of AIDS.

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