Our Activities & Accomplishments

Recent Progress on Strategic Plan

By: Mike Kiernan, NPCA Consultant

The National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers for Environmental Action (RPCV4EA) have worked closely together this year to expand the capacity of RPCV4EA and make it the go-to resource on climate change for the Peace Corps community.

Since January, we have increased membership by 50 percent and welcomed new RPCV members to manage our website, help with social media, recruit new members, produce a monthly newsletter and lead advocacy efforts. In addition, RPCV4EA also has made important progress in developing a strategic plan to advance the issue of climate change among RPCVs that reflects the values and perspectives of the Peace Corps community.

After a series of four forums of about 10 participants each between May 11 – May 21 to get further input, a Town Hall Meeting on Climate Change and Social Action was set for June 15. More than 50 RPCVs from around the country reviewed and voted on a proposed goal and key objectives for the climate change action campaign. In a July 6 Zoom meeting, 14 members of RPCV4EA attended a 90-minute strategic planning session to review the objectives and develop more than 30 different suggested activities to meet the objectives. The planning process will continue into August as the objectives are further refined. Here is the current iteration of RPCV4EA’s goal and major objectives.

Main Goal: Engage the RPCV community in applying its unique skills, connections and lifelong commitment to service to address the existential threat of climate change.

Four Objectives:

1. Education & Outreach: Develop a shared understanding within the Peace Corps community of the impact of climate change on other major global issues including global health, racial injustice, mass migrations, access to clean water, women’s empowerment and girls’ education, food security, extreme poverty and other causes of concern to the Peace Corps community – causes that many individual RPCVs and NPCA affiliates are already working to address.

1. Advocacy: Increase the capacity of NPCA’s affiliates and their interested members to engage in effective community-based advocacy on climate change and other issues of concern.

1. Partnerships: Increase recognition of NPCA and its affiliate groups by the climate change community and its activists of the Peace Corps community as a strong collaborative ally for changing attitudes, policies and practices related to climate change.

1. Resource Development: Strengthen the role of RPCV4EA as the go-to resource for the Peace Corps Community on climate change. 

On March 19, 2018, we submitted our Annual Report of Activities to the National Peace Corps Association. This report is a requirement of our affiliation status in the organization. It is also a great opportunity to look back and think about our successes, and plan for our future.

We don't collect dues, and therefore have no financial activity to report.

The report can be read on Google Drive right here.

As we move through a year's worth of meetings and accomplishments, too often the accomplishments get lost in the buzz of meetings. We are proud to present this 2019 Reaffiliation Report showing our efforts in 2018. Yes indeed, we are moving forward. While there is always more to do, more people to engage, and more to show as successes that impact our climate health, we remain committed to carrying on.

For questions or comments, please contact Kate Schachter, info@rpcv4ea.org.

The month of May is the time that our reaffiliation with the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA)is due. In the spirit of openness and transparency, we are glad to share our report with our membership. Here are some of my favorite highlights:

• The Peace Corps Action Team was formally launched as a grassroots action team in collaboration with the Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL).
• We endorsed the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R.763) being supported by CCL, and got endorsements from four other NPCA affiliate groups (RPCVs of Madison, Rochester RPCVs, NorCal and Peace Corps to Politics).
• We had guest speakers on environmental topics on roughly a quarterly basis.
• We attended the Peace Corps Connect Conference in Austin (HoT-PCC) and in addition to staffing an information table, hosted two short documentary movies on climate change in the South Pacific, followed by a panel discussion.

Any questions can be directed to Group President Kate Schachter at info@rpcv4ea.org.

Read the report here...