RPCV/W News

RPCV/W President Chris Austin at State Department Roundtable on PEPFAR

Chris Robinson — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:10:13 GMT

Last month we told you that Chris Austin was invited to a Conversations With America roundtable discussion on the 10-year anniversary of PEPFAR. He discussed efforts currently in progress to create an AIDS-free generation in Africa, including the creation of volunteer-based groups dedicated to community development, using our model as an example. Here's the video.

Through Conversations With America, leaders of national non-governmental organizations have the opportunity to discuss foreign policy and global issues with senior State Department officials. These conversations aim to provide candid views of the ways in which leaders from the foreign affairs community are engaging the Department on pressing foreign policy issues.

Chris served in Kenya from 2003 to 2005. He has been on the RPCV/W Board of Directors for 3 years and served as President for 2. He recently announced his plans to step aside when his term expires in July, citing an interest in bringing the next generation of RPCV/W leaders to the foreground.

RPCV/W's Communications Strategy Part 2: Taking Action

Chris Robinson — Wed, 08 May 2013 01:06:09 GMT

2. Strategy and Tactics

In my first installment, I wanted to demonstrate that the “Peace Corps Community” is not a monolithic entity. In order to keep a group fresh and active, its leaders must identify and engage critical segments of their audience. For RPCV/W, three distinct groups emerge: Established members, community stakeholders, and new arrivals. These groups have different interests and expectations. To keep the organization fresh, we embrace a flexible, member-driven approach that uses the pursuit of shared goals to create a marketable brand, which is absolutely critical to long-term growth and sustainability.

This is not a statement of official policy, rather it is an attempt to shine some light on our communications processes and invite public comment. Please email me at publicrelations@rpcvw.org and I would be delighted to hear your thoughts as we craft a long-term plan.

Section Outline

RPCV/W mainly focuses on three common goals that come from our audience:

Social: Helping people build relationships and have fun.
Community Service: Mobilizing volunteers for worthy projects.
Professional Development: Helping people start and advance careers.

Since these goals may change, we embrace a flexible mission statement that allows us to readily adapt to the needs of our members.

To pursue these goals with limited resources, we rely on our brand, which can be defined as the sum of all perceptions, values, and experiences that members and stakeholders associate with our group. Having a strong, positive brand adds long-term value to the group in countless ways.

We pursue this strategy of growing a positive brand through two primary tactics, which also include official and unofficial aspects:

Organizing Events
- Official: Planning and promoting events organized by us.
- Unofficial: Promoting activities we think our audience would enjoy.
Empowering Members
- Official: Creating open forums and useful networking tools for our audience.
- Unofficial: Coaching our audience to use these tools and build on them.

Taken together, these activities encourage participation, promote cohesion, strengthen identity, and simplify the transfer of control to future leaders. Ultimately, we want to build a community institution that maximizes return for its members and stakeholders.

Common Goals

The official activities of RPCV/W are planned and led by its Board of Directors, who serve 1-year terms and are responsible for running the organization. Only active, dues-paying members may vote or run for office. Ideally, the democratic process ensures that the group’s leaders are responsive to the interests of its members.

When we looked at data collected from member surveys, event attendance, website metrics, and years of feedback, the 2012-2013 Board of Directors identified three common objectives:

1. Social Interaction
2. Community Service and Volunteering
3. Professional Development

Broadly speaking, most of our events are social, because established members make up the majority of our group and social events enjoy the highest demand. Community service appeals to our members who are active with similar interest-based organizations, and to outside stakeholders who wish to match our volunteering spirit to their own goals. Professional development is of special interest to new arrivals eager to network and launch their careers. Keeping these three goals in mind is enormously helpful when planning events and conducting outreach. Our members provide our goals, and its up to us to figure out how to leverage the power of the group to meet them.

Evolving Mission Statement

A clear mission statement is the soul of an organization put into words. It serves as the theme for all outreach and communications. If you can’t explain why a group exists, chances are that it won’t exist for long. Volumes are written on strategic planning for organizations, and anyone looking to start a group should spend some serious time pondering what they do, why they do it, and where they want it to go.

In RPCV/W’s case, a given Board may rewrite the mission statement at the beginning of each year. It is no coincidence that our current mission statement reflects the three common objectives described above: “To serve as a resource to RPCVs and friends in the Washington DC area through social events, community service projects, and professional development programs that embody the 3rd Goal and spirit of the Peace Corps.”

By allowing the mission statement to change with an elected Board, RPCV/W ensures that its stated purpose accurately reflects the interests of its members during a given year. Since we structure our governance to be in tune with the values of our audience, running the group and communicating our goals are easier and more effective.

Building The Brand

From a messaging standpoint, a healthy group needs a distinctive identity, or brand, that rallies its member base and spurs action.

The stronger the brand becomes, the easier it is to share, and the more members and outside stakeholders it attracts. With more participation, the group receives more input, which includes new ideas for activities from members and partnership inquiries from outside stakeholders. As its identity becomes sharper, it enhances the capacity of the group to take on new opportunities.

A brand is also critical to the long-term sustainability of the group. A healthy brand continues to grow and evolve, long after its creators move on and are replaced by new leaders. In RPCV/W’s case, a good brand morphs into a sort of esprit de corps, an unspoken pride that helps fill the gaps which inevitably arise from the challenges of maintaining a volunteer-based, largely transient organization. A good example of this phenomenon is the Third Goal, which unites all RPCVs with a simple, perpetual mission: keep volunteering and sharing the Peace Corps experience.

Channeling the Third Goal

Like every other RPCV group, to mobilize our member base we channel the Third Goal and use it to organize post-service activities. Everything that we plan or promote is built on the concept of ongoing engagement. We use the established brand of Peace Corps to develop our own identity: one that reflects the unique concerns of the community that spawned it.

Organizing Events

Events are our bread and butter. They demonstrate to members and stakeholders that our group is active and engaged. We average between 3 and 5 per month. They range from monthly happy hours to contentious Board meetings to special events with hundreds of attendees. Events can be either official activities of RPCV/W or unofficial activities that RPCV/W agrees to promote.

An official event is any activity planned and led by an RPCV/W Board Member, usually the Social, Community Service, Professional Development, or Special Events Director. From time to time, regular members may use our resources to organize official events, provided they clear the idea with the appropriate Director(s).

Often, an outside stakeholder or an RPCV/W Member affiliated with an outside organization will ask us to promote or participate in an event. If RPCV/W is invited to play an active role, such as co-hosting or organizing a delegation or team, we will promote it as a partnership, since we will be able to maintain our group identity as part of a larger function. If a local business offers our members a special discount, we also consider it a partnership and promote it accordingly.

Unofficial events may still be shared and promoted, provided they are championed by an RPCV/W Member and meet the interests of our community, but they are assigned a lower priority than official events. Unofficial events are usually free, public happenings that outside groups ask us to share in our newsletter. We typically refrain from requests to fundraise for overseas projects or organize for political purposes.

This chart displays the levels of exposure we give to different types of events:

	Official Events	Partnerships	Unofficial Events
Website	Registration Page Sometimes Featured on Home Page	Registration Page Sometimes Featured on Home Page	Never
Website Email Blast	Special Events	Rarely	Never
Newsletter	Top Section	Top Section	Community News Section
Facebook Group	Event Created and Promoted by Admin Pictures posted	Event Created and Promoted by Admin Pictures posted	Events and pictures may be posted by anyone on wall, Only Active Members may post fundraisers/ events requiring payment
Facebook Page	Event Created and Promoted by Admin Pictures posted	Event Created and Promoted by Admin Pictures posted	Admin may post to wall upon request
Twitter	Admin may schedule tweets or livetweet	Admin may schedule tweets or livetweet	Admin may retweet outside orgs’ activities or livetweet
Linkedin	Profdev events posted by Admin	Anyone may share free networking opportunities	Anyone may share free networking opportunities. Admin may share paid events upon request
NPCA Community	Special Events	Special Events	Never
Secondary Social	Rarely	Rarely	Never
Google Calendar	Always	Always	Never

Clear communication is essential to proposing good events, promoting them to the widest audience, recruiting organizers and participants, and recording what occurred for posterity.

Empowering Members

“Empowering members” is a more ambiguous activity. Like any identity-based group, we cannot limit ourselves to planning the occasional event. RPCV/W is a living, breathing organism, requiring hundreds of hours of maintenance and care each year. Our members expect to buy into an established network to meet their personal goals, and they expect that network to be active.

Navigating an active network, however, is a challenge. At the time of this writing, RPCV/W has 918 members. 460 joined before March 26, 2012, and 458 joined since. Around 2,000 others receive our communications from at least one source and thus fall into our network. It is impossible, even for a veteran organizer, to keep track of so much information.

From a communications standpoint, we need to put in place policies that anticipate common interests and provide channels for our audience to navigate the network on their own. We do this by engaging them and demonstrating that their input drives the evolution of the organization. It’s not enough to build a network, you have to make it welcoming and usable.

Why It Matters

Your average communications plan is a component of a larger marketing strategy, where the goal is to increase sales or grow a donor base. Our goals are different. They come from our members. We enjoy a strong degree of trust because we are active, transparent, and local. Thanks to our shared identity, we are primed to organize. We just need valid goals and clear communication that feeds back to them. In the next section, I will describe the tools we use to make this happen.

RPCV/W Endorses Arvis Layton for "The Americas" Representative on the NPCA Board

Chris Robinson — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:06:55 GMT

April 10, 2013

Dear Friends,

I have the honor of announcing that The Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, D.C. (RPCV/W) hereby endorse Arvis Layton (Honduras 2003-2005) for the position of “The Americas” representative on the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) Board of Directors.

Mr. Layton has served our organization and community with distinction. He currently serves as the RPCV/W Professional Development Director and has previously held the positions of Social Director and Membership Director. His accomplishments include ensuring regular social networking activities, expanding our membership, and enhancing our Professional Development Initiative.

We believe that he will bring a strong voice and a fresh perspective to the NPCA Board. For more information on this election contest and about Arvis Layton, please visit this link. Please note that only NPCA members who served in the Americas are eligible to vote, and that the deadline for voting is April 30.

We encourage you to exercise your right to vote and, in doing so, make the NPCA a stronger presence for the returned volunteer community.

Sincerely,

Chris Austin, Kenya 03-05

President

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington DC (RPCV/W)

RPCV/W's Communications Strategy - Part 1: Understanding Our Audience

Chris Robinson — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 14:35:35 GMT

We’ve fielded a few requests lately from representatives of fellow RPCV groups who want to know how we optimize our website and social media accounts to best engage our members and support our group’s activities. In the following three posts, I will outline our communications strategy-- not just its function, but the rationale behind it --and the safeguards designed to sustain it long into the future. By putting our plan in writing, I hope to provide a guide for others to follow as they forge their own groups and spur feedback from our members and stakeholders for future improvements. Please direct your thoughts, comments, and questions to publicrelations@rpcvw.org.

1. Audience

The best way to doom a perfectly good communications plan is to misidentify your audience. Your audience is your boss. Your audience determines the success or failure of whatever initiatives you’re trying to promote. Forget who they are, and you can forget reaching them.

Over the last few years, RPCV/W has made a concerted effort to define our audience. Thanks to the variety of accessible data analysis and outreach tools available online, it is now easier than ever to organize, measure, and mobilize to your followers.

Our audience is a product of both environmental and operational factors. Washington, DC is a compact, regional hub that attracts many due to its history, its culture, and its institutions. These same qualities attract and retain RPCVs.

The RPCV/W audience includes individuals and organizations, new arrivals and established Washingtonians. Balancing our message among these constituencies is key.

As we learn more about our history, a model of our audience begins to emerge. RPCVs have been coming to DC since the Peace Corps was founded. Many were involved in the Peace Movement of the 1960s and there are several documented instances where RPCVs gathered to protest the war in southeast Asia. They found jobs in the civil and foreign service and set down roots. They started forming groups in the 1970’s, banding together for social solidarity and to support projects abroad. RPCV/W was formed in 1979 as an offshoot of the National Council of Returned Volunteers, which is now known as the National Peace Corps Association. RPCVs in DC banded together to do service projects, network, and commemorate special events such as Peace Corps anniversaries. RPCV/W was formally incorporated as a 501c3 nonprofit organization in 1991. As the years passed, a diverse, multi-generational community of RPCVs came into being, with new members arriving every week.

New Arrivals

New arrivals are the blood of RPCV/W. They drive our professional development and networking events. They come to Washington for jobs or education and recognize that establishing a strong support system is essential to survival. Some volunteer their time to help out, distinguishing themselves in the community and assuming leadership roles. They tend to be young, educated, and exceptionally driven individuals.

On the downside, new arrivals require dedicated orientation and mentoring to thrive. By its very nature, DC is a town of protocol and peculiarity. Finding reliable housing is always a challenge and getting a job here can be astoundingly difficult. Your experiences abroad might not translate as effectively as you thought they would. You are surrounded by monuments to wealth and power. As anywhere, loneliness can be a factor. It’s easy to become discouraged or bitter, which essentially cripples your effectiveness in every pursuit. New members need to be engaged often and shown a pathway to advance in the community. Otherwise, they may lose interest and move on. Helping new arrivals establish themselves is a top priority for RPCV/W.

Established Members

Established members are the brains and muscle of RPCV/W, since they possess institutional knowledge and can be counted on to pay dues and attend events. All of them were new arrivals once, so they know the importance of maintaining a social and professional community. They shape the organization by electing the Board of Directors, and many pitch in at events or suggest activities for the group.

Though they share a strong identity, established members are vulnerable to the same factors that affect new arrivals. The demands of work and/or family can put tight constraints on their schedules, and they may not be as receptive to certain events as they once were. The novelty of meeting new people can wear thin, and the formulaic, transactional nature of first-time interactions become to some a source of annoyance. Generational gaps threaten to alienate large sections of your membership, compounded by organizational shifts to technology which they may find unfamiliar. In addition to providing the vast majority of our funding through annual dues, members possess the power of the vote, and therefore ensure the accountability and legitimacy of the organization. Representing them in the best light, while staying true to their interests, adds value to their membership and magnifies their influence in the community.

Outside Stakeholders

Outside stakeholders are the last major group of our audience and also the most difficult to pinpoint. RPCV/W is very active in the community, and our community is the ideological hub of Western Civilization. We are surrounded by giants: Government agencies, multinational non-profits, educational institutions, major corporations, and every identity-based group imaginable. Our members work for and with these entities, and they reach out to us for all sorts of reasons. From local charities looking for volunteers to come out on a Saturday morning to policy institutions seeking input on an initiative of national significance, our audience can include almost anyone.

Working with outside stakeholders brings up a host of issues as you are now in charge of a brand and must craft a message that accurately reflects your organization. On one hand, we are a local organization run by a tight-knit band of volunteers who specialize in having fun and helping worthy partners. On the other, the relationships we build with outside stakeholders translate into new opportunities for our members and a heightened stature in the community-- public outreach being woven into our post-service identities and sanctioned through the Third Goal. The challenge, then, is to articulate an engaging narrative that stays true to the group’s roots while capturing the imagination of those who share our values.

New arrivals, established members, and outside stakeholders: These are the most strategically-sensible populations to engage and therefore make up our primary audience. Their participation determines the vitality of the organization.

When you organize an outreach campaign, it’s easy to get bogged down in the details and lose track of the people you are trying to reach. This model of our audience did not come about solely through observation. RPCV/W conducts yearly surveys. Our website requires members to register accounts, providing us with basic information, and Google Analytics tell us how and when people utilize it. The social media accounts we maintain have built in analysis tools that provide similar information. Taken together with face-to-face interactions during the dozens of events we hold per year, an active database makes it possible to truly know your audience.

Since we now have an accurate picture of who we’re communicating with, we can proceed with a plan tailored to their needs. In my next post, I will outline the different components of our operation and describe how they work together to meet our goals.

Harris Wofford Awarded Presidential Citizens Medal

Chris Robinson — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:07:43 GMT

RPCV/W congratulates Senator Harris Wofford on being awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal, our nation's second highest civilian honor.

Senator Wofford is one of the founding fathers of the Peace Corps, and has dedicated his life to serving the public good. His list of accomplishments is far too big for any blog post, and we will leave it to the Peace Corps, Americorps, and the White House to summarize his expansive career. Check out this video tribute while you're at it.

What matters most to us is that Senator Wofford is a dedicated member of RPCV/W and a fixture at many of our events, always open and ready to engage. He is more active than most government agencies on a wide range of causes, bringing expansive insight gained from five decades of top-level experience.

Senator Wofford is a friend to volunteers of all types. A conversation with him is a priceless opportunity, and we are grateful to include him in our number. Be sure to introduce yourself and offer congratulations the next time you see him. Tell him about what you do, and how you got into volunteering. Chances are, your experiences, and the experiences you share with others, are the product of his life's work.

R.I.P: Peace Corps listserv.

Chris Robinson — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:17:03 GMT

Last week, rpcvnetwork@googlegroups.com was officially retired. For many of us, this dependable service was a critical lifeline as we struggled to meet the challenges of finding work and housing in DC. We applaud the new service, RPCV Career Link, and encourage our members to make use of it.

We have also added new job feeds to our DC Job Feed Bundle, which aggregates over 20 RSS feeds posting new, DC-area jobs that may be of interest to local job-seekers. After you apply, be sure to join our Linkedin Group and use it to identify RPCV contacts at businesses or agencies of interest to you. A quick coffee and a thoughtful thank you note can make all the difference.

But what about housing? The NPCA maintains an RPCV Housing Group on its social network, though its postings are spread over the whole country. For those posting and looking for DC area opportunities, we encourage you to make use of our semi-private Facebook Group.

Though the RPCVNetwork listserv has faded into cache memory, its impact will live on as RPCVs continue to make use of technology to connect and create. Let's continue to grow the network.

RPCV/W turns its inaugural energy to the National Day of Service

Chris Robinson — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 01:55:37 GMT

We'd like to thank the 30 RPCV/W Members who organized and participated in 3 service projects to honor the Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service on Saturday, January 19, 2013. Volunteers took time out of their Saturday mornings to work with children with special needs, prepare a mural at an underserved school, and assemble care packages for deployed members of the armed services. Thanks to the magic of Twitter, our efforts were picked up by a reporter who featured us in an article for msn.com. Thanks again to everyone who came out!

Project Descriptions

Community Service Event with Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (KEEN)

Saturday, January 19 - MLK Day of Service (11:00am - 2:45pm)

St. Coletta of Greater Washington

We’ll have fun playing sports with children and youth with physical and development disabilities. As group, we’ll play with the kids and engage them in various activities, which may include tennis, basketball, and soccer, as well as just playing catch or joining a friendly game of tug of war. The environment is non-competitive, where every child can enjoy activities in a safe and encouraging environment. St. Coletta School is across the street from Stadium-Armory Metro and there is parking onsite for anyone who is driving. There will be a happy hour following the event. This is a joint-service project with the Rotary Club of Federal City.

Yes We Can: End Illiteracy Service Event

Saturday, January 19, 2013 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM (EST)

Moten Elementary School

RPCV/W is partnering with several cause-focused organizations to pitch in for a community literacy event at one of 6 DC public schools. Details are still being finalized. Register here if you'd like to participate. Please let us know if you have transportation and wouldn't mind giving others a ride to the school we'll be working in.

On the day of the event, volunteers will:

Write a letter to a student inside the gifted book(s), and share why reading is important;
Help assemble a literacy-ready pack for students;
Paint a literacy-focused mural;
Read a book on tape, which will be shared with students during their reading hours; and/or
Assist with cleaning the library.

Unite America in Service Event

Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013, 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m

DC Armory (2001 East Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC 20003)

Points of Light and Target, in partnership with Operation Gratitude, the Corporation for National and Community Service, Community Blueprint, Serve DC, HandsOn Greater DC Cares, Volunteer Fairfax, Americorps Alums of Washington, DC, and the George Washington University invite you to attend the signature national service project in Washington, D.C. honoring the memory of Dr. King.

Volunteers will pack 100,000 care kits filled with necessities for deployed U.S. Service Members, Wounded Warriors, Veterans and First Responders. Join us to show appreciation to those who serve our country.

This is the first event of its kind that RPCV/W has been involved in, and we hope you will consider contributing your time and energy to this worthy cause.

Statement from the Inaugural Committee

Chris Robinson — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 20:35:12 GMT

January 4, 2013

Dear Friends,

It is with much regret that I write to inform you that the Peace Corps Community, which represents the joint efforts of the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington DC (RPCV/W), was not selected by the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) to participate in the 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade this month.

We learned of this decision in late December, and despite an appeal we were told that the PIC wanted a smaller parade this year, which resulted in a decision to reduce the number of participants – including our group. Our bid to march was a 6-month collaborative effort between our members and the NPCA, exchanging ideas and following an established plan based on our last successful experience in 2009 when we led 180 marchers at the 56th Inaugural.

Although I regret the PIC’s decision, I am proud of the work that the Peace Corps Community committed to this undertaking and I look forward to all that we can accomplish in our next venture. Our absence in the parade will not lessen the contributions that the Peace Corps Community has made in service to the United States, in the fulfillment of the three goals of Peace Corps.

To this end, we note that President Obama has called on all citizens to recognize January 19th as a national day of service and spend some time doing service work across the country. We thank you for your enthusiasm and your passion, and hope you will apply it to serving your communities as you have served the peoples of the world.

Kind regards,

Corey Taylor, Benin 97-99

Chair, RPCV/W Inaugural Committee

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington DC (RPCV/W)

Peace Corps Directors to attend 2012 Holiday Party. Aaron Williams to be honored with award.

Chris Robinson — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 21:52:11 GMT

RPCV/W will honor Former Director Aaron S. Williams

with our Peace Corps Champion Award at the

2012 Holiday Party & Silent Auction

7-10:30 PM Friday, December 14, 2012

2020 O St. NW

$45 Member - $60 Non-Member

$70 at the door

prices increase after December 7th, get your tickets now!

Each year, RPCV/W awards its Peace Corps Champion Award to an individual whose work has made a great impact on the Peace Corps and its community. This year, we welcome Aaron S. Williams, who served as Director of the Peace Corps from 2009 to 2012, to receive the award at our Holiday Party on December 14.

We are equally thrilled to welcome Acting Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet and Peace Corps Founding Father, Senator Harris Wofford.

This year's Holiday Party will be the largest regular gathering of RPCVs in Washington, DC. Whether you're coming to make new friends or catch up with old ones, the Holiday Party at the exciting Mansion on O Street is the place to be.

TEAM RPCV/W
Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, DC
PO Box 75085 Washington, DC 20013
Emails: Event Information, Donation Information, Membership Information

Holiday Party Tickets on Sale and Going Fast! Prices Increase December 7.

Chris Robinson — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:39:22 GMT

Download Invitation pdf

Spread the word! The holiday party is RPCV/W's signature social event, as well as our only fundraiser for the year.

This year's event will be held at the Mansion on O St. in the heart of DuPont Circle. Food, music, and 2 hours of open beer and wine bars are sure to get us all in the Holiday Spirit!

Total tickets have been limited to 300, and half have already been sold. Prices rise on December 7, so get them now!

Get your tickets

We are also collecting donations for our silent auction. If you or your organization would like to donate, please contact our Development Director, Jason Smith

Contact Jason

High-worth donations will be acknowledged accordingly on our website and in promotional materials, ask Jason for details.

Twitter Milestone: 500 followers

Chris Robinson — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 03:44:13 GMT

500 followers! Thanks for making RPCV/W such a vibrant organization. Keep sending us news, suggestions, and happenings around DC.
— RPCV Washington (@rpcvw) November 15, 2012

We'd like to thank everyone who is following us on Twitter for helping us reach this small but significant milestone. In addition to a steady stream of pre-programmed event reminders and news, the RPCV/W Twitter account shares interesting content from others we follow, engages in banter with fellow Tweeters, and offers the occasional wry or witty observation on life in the District. Every Friday, we participate in the #RPCVChat hosted by the National Peace Corps Association, and we are followed by a wide range of individuals, companies, organizations, and even elected officials.

Storytelling session a success. Here is the e-mail that went out to everyone:

Chris Robinson — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:08:31 GMT

Good times!
Thanks for your stories and smiles

Dear Friend,

On behalf of RPCV/W and Cause DC, thanks for making last night's storytelling session a smashing success. We'll definitely do it again soon.

Our Holiday Party is hardly a month away and reduced-price tickets are on sale, but the numbers are limited, so reserve yours now! We are also accepting donations for our silent auction, the proceeds of which maintain our organization and support our Partnership for Peace.

Tickets

The Holiday Party is the largest yearly gathering of DC RPCVs. Reduced price tickets are limited to 150. Get yours now!

Auction

We'll take gift certificates or any unique item of cultural value. Click below to contact our Development Director to learn more.

Buy your tickets

Give an auction item

Also be sure to check out the following events:

Grocery Delivery in Shaw with We Are Family, November 10
Networking with Abt Associates, November 13
Undetermined Community Service Event, December 1 (open to suggestions)
Guided Tour of the Capitol Building, December 8

Thanks again and see you next time!
-RPCV/W

New Page: 2013 Inauguration Planning and Parade HQ

Chris Robinson — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 15:47:27 GMT

RPCV/W is making a bid to march in the Presidential Inauguration Parade which will take place on Monday January 21, 2013. Here's a shot of us marching by the White House at the 2009 Inauguration:

This event will last all day and is expected to involve over 150 participants who will carry the flags of all the Peace Corps countries in a parade through Washington.

Participants are held to strict regulations which involve providing their own organized transportation and wrangling scores of marchers. To meet this goal, RPCV/W is drawing on the skills and talents of a crack committee of members under the command of top RPCV/W operative and veteran event planner Corey Taylor.

The payoff? A once in a life-time opportunity to represent the Peace Corps and march in a historic parade, and to share that experience with a cool group of talented people. Contact Corey at inauguration@rpcvw.org to get involved and check his page regularly for news, updates, meeting times, pictures, and important documents for committee members.

Help us organize it and earn yourself a spot! For those who want to carry a flag, stay tuned for details.

2012 RPCV/W Member Survey Report

Chris Robinson — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 19:07:23 GMT

Here's the report on the 2012 Member Survey, filled with interesting facts and an Ezra Klein level emphasis on pretty graphs. We'll use it to make RPCV/W better by planning more inclusive events and engaging more members. Thanks to everyone who participated!
2012 Survey Packet

Our 2012-2013 calendar of events has us hosting at least four activities every month. Forging and strengthening social bonds, helping members build and advance in their careers, and giving back to the community through weekend volunteering are our chief priorities. This is RPCV/W's most ambitious plan so far, and we look forward to carrying it out.

New Webpage: Community Service

Chris Robinson — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:22:43 GMT

Our community service initiative is more active than ever, so we decided to give it a dedicated page on our website.

The Community Service Page features descriptions of past projects and lists the dates of upcoming events. It also introduces our Community Service Director and provides information for organizations who may be interested in partnering with us. Logged in members may share their comments and suggestions on individual posts.

2012 Member Survey released. Submit before October 4 for a chance to win $25.

Chris Robinson — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:11:09 GMT

Members are encouraged to take a moment to fill out the RPCV/W Member Survey. All information is confidential, and it helps us plan for the future. To show our gratitude, if you complete and submit the survey before October 4, you will be entered to win one of four 25$ GiftRocket gift cards, valid anywhere. Winners will be announced the next day in our Facebook Group.

Click here to go to the survey

RPCV/W Social Map

Chris Robinson — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 14:20:53 GMT

The RPCV/W Social Map is a collaborative project where participants tag their workplaces, neighborhoods, colleges, hometowns, and countries of service. It provides an interesting visual of the DC RPCV Community, and can serve as a valuable tool for meeting neighbors, arranging carpools, and finding an RPCV-friendly neighborhood. We use it to plan more effective events and reach out to different communities.

All RPCV/W Members are welcome to participate. To access and add to the live map, login to the Members section and follow the directions. Nonmembers are welcome to join RPCV/W, and the first year is always free.

New website feature: Member Directory Search and Messaging

Chris Robinson — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:47:06 GMT

Right now, there are over 600 current (dues paying) members of RPCV/W. The website now allows for logged-in members to search our member database by name, country of service, and close of service year. Members can contact each other through a secure Private Message feature.

The Directory is located in the Members Section of the website. Only logged in members can utilize this feature. To Log in, enter the email address and password you used to register your RPCVW.org account in the login box at the upper right hand corner of your screen. It would be a good idea to bookmark this page and save the password for future use, as we will be adding more to the Members Section in the near future. If you forgot your password, you can reset it here.

Upon accessing the Directory, you will see a listing of all current RPCV/W Members. Clicking a name reveals additional information about that person, and allows you to send a message by clicking the button at the top left of the page. You can change your profile settings by clicking "View Profile" and clicking "Edit." Be sure to keep all your information up to date.

We encourage our members to utilize this feature freely. Search your country and see if there are others in our organization who you may have known. Read bios and contact interesting people. Any RPCV should be willing to spare a few moments to offer advice or guidance to another. Enjoy!

Statement on the Resignation of Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams

Chris Robinson — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:25:37 GMT

August 29, 2012

After three years of leading the agency, Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams announced that he will be stepping down. The Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, D.C. (RPCV/W) would like to thank Director Williams for his loyal service to our nation and his friendship with our organization.

Director Williams undertook leading the agency during a time of dramatic political changes. Shortly after becoming Director, he was able to obtain the largest funding in the agency’s history. Then, the outcome of the 2010 midterm elections resulted in the enforcement of budget austerity. Congressional oversight and media coverage was also heightened due to safety and security incidents, some of which preceded him.

Yet, despite these hurdles, Director Williams managed to help the agency thrive by implementing changes to ensure the safety of volunteers and by opening programs in Sierra Leone, Indonesia, Colombia, Tunisia and Nepal. Furthermore, under his tenure, Peace Corps and RPCV/W worked closely together on a number of initiatives, including our Professional Development Initiative and speed networking events, Peace Corps Community Town Halls, and a historic public commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps. Director Williams strengthened the Peace Corps family, and for that, we thank him.

Chris Austin, Kenya 03-05
President
Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, DC

Revised Mission Statement unveiled for 2012-2013

Chris Robinson — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:09:26 GMT

During each annual retreat, the newly-elected Board of Directors refines the Mission of RPCV/W to reflect its goals for the year.

Here is our 2012-2013 Mission Statement:

"To serve as a resource to RPCVs and friends in the Washington DC area through social events, community service projects, and professional development programs that embody the 3rd Goal and spirit of the Peace Corps."

The Board unanimously voted to adopt this streamlined mission statement because it best summarized our priorities. RPCV/W is dedicated to building social, professional, and community relationships that uphold the values of the Peace Corps, and all our events and activities will encompass a part of this plan. Our slogan, "Bringing the experience home," remains unchanged.