We're known as the National Peace Corps Association, but fewer people might remember that we used to go by the name "National Council of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers." NCRPCV didn't exactly roll off the tongue, but the name reflected the group's origins. As I have heard one person describe it, the organization literally sprang from a "tribal council meeting" of a few geographically-based groups of returned Peace Corps volunteers (Washington, DC and Iowa, I believe, being two of the major players).
Years later the decision was made to change the name to something more inclusive, given that many former Peace Corps staff members were very involved in the organization and equally passionate about the mission and ideals of the Peace Corps. And in truth, we've continued to broaden our embrace. We've found that there are countless friends of Peace Corps...relatives and friends of serving and former Peace Corps volunteers, people planning to apply to Peace Corps, host country nationals touched by the work of Peace Corps and many, many people in the U.S. and around the world who simply admire the Peace Corps, what it stands for, and what it says about our country. 'National Peace Corps Association" seems to fit nicely and work well.
Even after the organizational name change, however, our URL continued to be "rpcv.org." (The URL npca.org belongs to the National Parks Conservation Association). Peace Corps is a government agency and any applicant to Peace Corps quickly learns that there is an alphabet soup of acronyms and slang to learn. "PCV," "RPCV," "COS," "psycho-vac," "PST," "admin-sep," "med-sep" just to name a few. "RPCV" (returned Peace Corps volunteer), while handy, began to feel exclusive and didn't exactly jibe with the broader appeal and vision of the organization. So starting last year we phased in a new URL: www.peacecorpsconnect.org. Yes, quite a bit more to type, but it's a moniker that captures one of our core functions: to connect the people who have or want to have a Peace Corps connection.
Because that's one of the wonderful things I've learned: no matter during what decade you served, what region of the world, what program area, there is usually an immediate connection among people who have had the Peace Corps experience, or even a Peace Corps-like experience. It's a feeling that although I may not really know anything about you... I know something very essential about you.
This idea of connection even extends to those who only have a glancing interaction with Peace Corps. As a volunteer in The Gambia, it was not uncommon for me to be asked, "Do you know that American "Pisco" Julie from New York?" or Michael Jackson, or Chuck Norris...with the full expectation that I might. The assumption was that the world, like The Gambia, was a very small place. With the advent of the Internet, social networking sites, Google searches, Skype, and things like this blog...it's true. We're all just a few clicks away from each other.
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