50th Anniversary Activity Underway Thanks to Public Welfare Foundation Grant and a Generous Bequest

The Public Welfare Foundation recently provided NPCA with a $50,000 grant to honor Tom Scanlon for his years of service as chair of the Foundation Board. Tom served in Chile 1 and wrote one of the classic Peace Corps books, Waiting for the Snow.

The Foundation has been a long-term supporter of the Peace Corps community and under Tom’s leadership supported the 25^th, 35^th, 40^th and now the 50^th anniversary of Peace Corps.  It also provided support to develop the Emergency Response Network, which Peace Corps adopted as Crisis Corps and recently named as Peace Corps Response. Tom has asked that this very generous gift be used to support the planning and organization of the most successful Peace Corps gathering ever. 

“NPCA is enormously grateful for this splendid gift,” says NPCA President Kevin Quigley.  “It honors an outstanding Peace Corps individual who understands the importance of our association and its role in keeping Peace Corps vibrant and its spirit alive.”

NPCA is also the beneficiary of a generous bequest from the estate of Beryl Brinkman (Afghanistan 67-69), a founder of the West Cascade RPCVS and past member of the board of directors of the NPCA who died earlier this year.  Beryl was an ardent supporter of the greater Peace Corps community and her adventurous spirit touched countless lives.

“The Brinkman bequest will be used for a legacy project that is still being developed and aims to share our Peace Corps stories with hundreds of thousands of visitors, especially young people, who come to experience the National Mall in Washington, D.C.,” says Quigley.