Invest in the future with Peace Corps Park on Giving Tuesday Dear Supporters, Every year, the season of thanks encourages us to reflect on the things we are grateful for, but also to think about the future and the world we want to see. For Peace Corps Park, we are so grateful for the achievements of the past year–both in inspiring major donors like Jacqueline Mars and Ces Butner and in securing design approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts–and profoundly excited about the future. With more than $5 million already raised, the only real hurdle in this journey toward groundbreaking is raising the remaining funds for this meaningful project. On this Giving Tuesday, we invite everyone to make Peace Corps Park a central part of your giving plans with a tax deductible donation . There are many ways to give , and all of them will help bring Peace Corps Park to life in our nation’s capital. Most of all, your generosity will help us match Ces Butner's $500,000 gift before the end of the year and show how this community can rise to meet his challenge. At its most impactful, your charitable giving is an investment in the future: A way of saying “the world would be a better place if more people lived these values.” And while Peace Corps Park will commemorate the bold vision that JFK laid out when creating the Peace Corps almost 65 years ago, our mission is decidedly forward-looking. We believe the world is a better place when people from different walks of life partner with each other in service of a shared future, and that creating a permanent beacon to these ideals in our nation’s capital is a critical part of telling America’s story to the more than 25 million people who visit the National Mall every year.

November Newsletter: Announcing a major gift in this season of thanks

September Newsletter: Peace Corps Community Leading the Way

It is with great pleasure that we announce a major step forward in the timeline of Peace Corps Park, with final design approval by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts at its last meeting on October 17. The Foundation has been working tirelessly with the CFA since the site selection process in 2014 to refine our design approach, using creative problem solving to address feedback around the symbolic representation of the world map in the Park’s central plaza, the granite benches encircling it, the inscriptions carved into the stone, and many other aspects of the Park’s concept. Our expert design and landscaping team, led by Larry Kirkland and Michael Vergason, made countless refinements to the plan to ensure the best possible artistic and practical expression, some of which we have shared in our recent newsletters . We are thrilled to see the fruits of this collaboration, and are looking forward to finalizing the engineering plan to make the design a reality. Another critical stakeholder in this process is the National Park Service, which will maintain the Park in perpetuity once built. On Friday, October 18, the NPS issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for Peace Corps Park, a precursor to obtaining final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which is expected to review the plan in its December meeting. With the Park’s design process in its final stages, we turn our attention to raising the $5 million needed to put shovels in the ground, and look to our generous and dedicated community to get us to groundbreaking and make Peace Corps Park a reality!

Dear Friends and Supporters,  It is with a heavy heart that the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation announces the passing of our President, Roger K. Lewis, who died on Wednesday at his home in Washington, D.C. after undergoing a medical procedure. He was 83, and is survived by his wife Ellen, their son Kevin and his wife, and four granddaughters.

September Newsletter: Peace Corps Community Leading the Way

August Newsletter: A beacon of hope for Peace Corps values

July Newsletter: Now is the time for this critical symbol of unity and partnership

June Newsletter: Into the home stretch of Peace Corps Park’s design