Reunions

The 63rd Peace Corps Reunion: A Huge Success!

More than 70 former Peace Corps Volunteers that served in the Dominican Republic joined 22 currently serving Volunteers to attend the 63rd Peace Corps Reunion in Santo Domingo from October 14th to 16th to celebrate seven decades of friendship and progress between Peace Corps and the Dominican people.

The reunion began with approximately 25 attendees making a trip to the New York Mets Player Development Academy in Boca Chica, led by RPCV John Seibel, followed by lunch in a local restaurant before returning to the hotel El Embajador later in the afternoon. That same evening, the 70+ attendees and almost 55 currently serving Volunteers attended a reception at the hotel where they enjoyed music, Dominican food and a bachata demonstration before enjoying dinner at the restaurant of their choice.

The reunion workshops began the following morning with a presentation on development in the Dominican Republic today and an update on the status of Haiti. Then, following a break for cafecito, attendees heard from a panel of six former DR Volunteers and a currently serving Volunteer about how the seven decades of Peace Corps service in the DR were comparable or different. The program continued with presentations by currently serving Volunteers on their sectors, including Community Economic Development, Youth Development, Childhood Literacy and Teaching English as a Foreign Language, which ended the day’s presentations.

On the second day of the reunion, the program presentations by the current Volunteers were repeated so attendees could attend different sessions than the day before. Additional sessions on the second day included:

• A day in the life of current Volunteers
• A report on the National Peace Corps Association’s study about the domestic dividends of Peace Corps
• A session featuring Dominican speakers about the impact of Peace Corps’ work in the DR over seven decades
• Presentations by the reunion hosts, Fondo Quisqueya (Fondo Q) and Friends of the Dominican Republic (FDR), the two organizations representing Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who served in the DR.

The closing ceremony included the presentation of awards to the 22 current Volunteers who helped plan and present at the Reunion, and tokens of appreciation for two former Volunteers for their continued organizational service. Overall, a survey of attendees following the Reunion gave the event an overwhelming approval rating of 107 out of a possible 110 points.