| |
Press
Release
New
York Regional Office
201 Varick Street,
Suite 1025
New York, NY 10014
Contact: Molly Jennings, Public Affairs
Specialist
212-352-5446 / mjennings@peacecorps.gov
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Peace Corps Reunion
A group of volunteers will reunite this weekend after 40 years
New York, NY.- Close to 20 returned Peace Corps
volunteers will reunite 40 years after their two-year service
in Turkey. The group will meet at Shawnee Inn in Shawnee on
Delaware, Pennsylvania for a weekend of catching up and learning
more about how the Peace Corps experience has affected each
of their lives.
The Peace Corps group refers to itself as "Turkey
6" because they were the sixth group of Peace Corps volunteers
sent to work in Turkey from 1964-1966. The Peace Corps volunteers
worked together for two years and many have not seen each
other since they left Turkey in 1966. While serving in the
Peace Corps, the group worked in child care centers, schools
and orphanages to promote modern approaches to child care
and social service. Some volunteers also worked in urban slum
areas, the gecekondu. These days, their careers include
academia, the judicial system, and the non-profit sector.
The reunion, organized by Lael Stegall and Janet Mc Aveeney,
will begin in the evening of Friday, December 9 and end on Sunday
morning at Shawnee Inn in Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania. The
planned activities include a discussion of the impact of Peace
Corps on their lives, a presentation about the Peace Corps today
and a Turkish dinner prepared by the group. The activities begin
Friday evening to accommodate travelers. Many will travel hours,
and some even across the country, to reunite with friends they
knew forty years ago.
"I am really excited to see many people
who I have not seen since I left Turkey 40 years ago. I have
never participated in a reunion before in my life. So you
can see how much my Peace Corps days mean to me," stated
Kay Donahue Jennings, who plans to drive 6 hours from Pittsburgh,
PA to attend the reunion.
The Peace Corps will celebrate its 45th anniversary
this year, commemorating the March 1, 1961, signing of the
executive order that established the Peace Corps. The celebration
will commence during Peace Corps Week-February 27 through
March 5, 2006-and continue throughout the year.
Since 1961, 182,000 volunteers have
served in a total of 138 countries around the world. Currently, 7,810
Peace Corps volunteers are serving in 77 countries and work on developing
self-sustaining projects in education, business, health, environment
and agriculture. For more information, visit www.peacecorps.gov.
|
|
