Best Practices: Sharing Your VSP Experience

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Sharing your experience as a Virtual Service Participant is a new and exciting way of achieving Peace Corps' Third Goal. This toolkit will help you get started sharing about your Virtual Service story!

Overview

Peace Corps Virtual Service (VS) is an opportunity for RPCVs and RPCRVs to engage virtually in support of the mission of Peace Corps. You, as a participant, have been supporting the capacity of host country partners in alignment with all three of Peace Corps' goals. You are now a member of a small but growing community of Virtual Service Participants. This page is intended to support you as you share your story as a Virtual Service Participant in an ethical, meaningful, and engaging way.

Goals
  1. To generate awareness of the Peace Corps' Virtual Service Pilot (VSP) among returned Peace Corps Volunteers via social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
  2. To inspire members of the RPCV community to submit expressions of interest to participate in a VSP engagement.

Important to Remember

As a Virtual Service Participant, you are a private citizen donating your time to the agency. We appreciate the gift of your time and understand the sacrifices you've made to be part of Virtual Service. When posting online, please represent yourself as a Virtual Service Participant and not as a Volunteer. Please be respectful of the people you engage with during your time as a Participant and, in regard to social media, please get permission from all parties involved before posting or tagging photos. Take a look at Peace Corps' approach to Ethical Storytelling here.

Social Media

Images

Zoom screenshots are not engaging, we discourage using them. Consider asking a friend or a family member to take a photo of you collaborating with your counterpart. Consider posting a photo from your in-person experience, alongside one from your virtual experience. This side-by-side comparison of the two different forms of engaging is compelling. Additionally, if you have photos from your Host Partner/Counterpart’s perspective (of them engaging with you or of the project in action) feel free to share, with their permission. Do not post images of adults or children without a signed media authorization form for every individual. A good way to do this is to share any posts your organization makes on their own social media accounts.

Helpful links to consider adding:
Banner graphic:

LinkedIn Banner [JPG]

Suggested Hashtags

#VirtualService

#PeaceCorps

Virtual Service Pilot (VSP) Language Guide

Please follow this language guide when communicating about the VSP:

Words to Avoid
  • Volunteer
  • Work
  • Deliverables
  • Must/Should
  • Assignment
  • Applicant
  • Application
  • Legal clearance
  • Extensions/Extendees
Recommended Language
  • Virtual Service Pilot Participant or VSPP
  • Task/Engagement/Activity/Collaboration
  • Tasks
  • May/ Contribute
  • Engagement/Service
  • Prospective Participant
  • Expression of Interest
  • Legal review/Vetting/Due Diligence
  • Donating for a second time/third time

Answering Questions

Answer any question you feel comfortable with. If there is a question you don't know the answer to, you can always share the Virtual Service email address ([email protected]). We are happy answer any questions that come up! For a list of VSP FAQs please click here.