My story in support of 10,000 volunteers

I received an appeal from a lobbying organization called Push for Peace Corps. They are raising awareness with the members of the House committee who are debating legislation to increase the Peace Corps budget to $65 million. This is the story I sent to them:

Forty years ago, I became a Peace Corps Volunteer. My husband and I spent 3 1/2 years in two different cities of the Philippines. Now, all these years later, we are active members of the Filipino community here and have continued as volunteers in many other organizations. Our daughter has just finished her own term of service as a PCV in Albania. A few years ago when a group came to Denver from Cebu I met the superintendent of the Mandaue schools. She asked if I was the Arlene Lipman who had been the Peace Corps Volunteer in Bohol. I found a photo of the seminar she had attended as a young teacher with me as the PCV in the front row and her among all the teachers. I asked her if it had been useful. She said it had been good. It was nice getting validation over 30 years later! We feel that the Peace Corps was one of the most important times of our lives. The international experiences and connections we made affect every aspect of our lives. The investment that the US Government has made in the Peace Corps over the years is the best example of people-to-people diplomacy. Arlene Lipman PCV - Davao and Bohol, Philippines 1970-1974