National Peace Corps Association
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| Founded | 1979 |
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| Type | 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization |
| Focus | Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, Peace Corps Community |
| Location | |
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Area served
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Global |
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Employees
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8 |
| Slogan | "The next step in changing the world." |
| Website | http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/ |
The National Peace Corps Association is an American nonprofit organization for Peace Corps alumni. It works to support former Peace Corps volunteers, encourage lifelong practice of the ideals of the Peace Corps, and serves as an advocacy organization to support and improve the Peace Corps.
Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is a nonprofit organization at the center of a vibrant and united community of 215,000 individuals who share the Peace Corps experience. The NPCA champions a lifelong commitment to Peace Corps ideals by connecting, engaging and promoting its members and member groups as they continue to make a difference in communities in the U.S. and around the world. NPCA is also dedicated to advocating for, contributing to, and supporting the betterment of the Peace Corps.
NPCA encompasses a network of over 30,000 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and more than 140 member groups. NPCA and its affiliates produce global education programs and advocacy campaigns, and provide community, national, and international services. It is governed by a board of directors and managed by a professional staff. NPCA is separate from the United States Peace Corps, which is a federal agency.
At conferences of global educators in the Midwest in the mid-1970s, a handful of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers began meeting regularly to discuss how to promote at home the values and lessons they had learned as Peace Corps Volunteers in the developing world. They adopted as their mission one of the three goals articulated by President John F. Kennedy when he created the Peace Corps in 1961: come home and teach your neighbors about the communities where you served. They gave the growing numbers of returning Peace Corps Volunteers in America a continuing mission and a communal identity as Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs).
In 1979, these global educators joined with leaders of communities of RPCVs in New York and Washington, D.C. to create the National Council of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (incorporated 1981). In 1993, we changed our name to the more inclusive National Peace Corps Association (NPCA).
Upon their return from overseas, RPCVs continue to receive recognition from several organizations. 120,000 RPCVs accepted the Beyond War Award in 1987 in honor of their commitment to nonviolence. Through their participation in volunteer projects or other endeavors, many RPCVs remain active in the Peace Corps community today. NPCA has encouraged and recognized outstanding service by members of the Peace Corps community by awarding over 20 Sargent Shriver awards for distinguished humanitarian service. We also recognize achievements with the Loret Miller Ruppe Awards that honor outstanding community service in the US and Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
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