Sample Letter

Senator Patrick J. Leahy
Courthouse Plaza
199 Main Street
Burlington, VT 05401

Dear Senator Leahy,

Please support efforts to build a robust, dynamic Peace Corps of at least 16,000 Americans serving in 100 countries as part of America's renewed commitment to positive engagement with countries around the world and the President's challenge to all Americans to serve their communities, their country and the cause of peaceful development across the Globe.  Please support doubling the budget of the Peace Corps by 2011.  We urge you to help jump start expansion by sending at least 1,000 new volunteers to new Peace Corps countries in 2009.

I write to you as a returned Peace Corps volunteer who served as a teacher in a village in Ecuador from 1988 to 1990.  The friendships I made and my continued efforts to advance literacy in other parts of Latin America through an NGO I created in 1995 are meaningful contributions to global cooperation – extending far beyond my two years of Peace Corps service.  I don’t think I would be this fluent in Spanish were it not for my service, and the language and cultural knowledge I acquired in the Peace Corps opened up even more opportunities to serve.  Peace Corps is America at its best and we need much more of it.

Senator Leahy, the Peace Corps is too small and not bold enough.  The number of volunteers sent each year, 4,000, is half the number sent four decades ago when the population of America was just 180 million,  Demand for volunteers exceeds supply; more than 20 additional countries have requested Peace Corps, and some countries that currently have programs seek even greater numbers.  The Peace Corps remains a symbol of “America at its best” at a time when our global standing has declined in many regions of the world.   Peace Corps is uniquely positioned to help boost America’s image as a cooperative partner and trusted friend.  I know that in my village in Ecuador, every time they think of America, they think of someone who tried to help their community get better education.

Thank you, Senator Leahy.  I truly appreciate the time you took to read this letter and hope you share my view that increasing the number of Peace Corps volunteers is a wise investment that benefits both the United States and the world.  It would cost only $1 per capita to double the shoestring budget of the Peace Corps and as we approach the 50th anniversary, this would be a good way to recognize the half-century of achievements this program has made.  Thank you, and I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Nancy McGuire
Executive Director, Water for Latin America Foundation
1111 Avenue A, Burlington, VT 05401
Ecuador 98-00