Recent News
Stay up to date with the latest updates from our group and the broader Peace Corps community.
Email Contact Form
-
2021 Seattle / Portland Joint Peace Corps Regional Camp-Out! August 15-18
August 12-15, 2021, at Lewis & Clark Trail State Park, Dayton, WA Location: https://goo.gl/maps/uWigcxMFidXKvXh79 Buy tickets here today! Regardless of when you arrive or leave, pay $16 for each person age 12 and over. Kids age 6-17 are $5. Kids under 5 are free Make sure to select all the options above, click 'add to bag', then pay! See you there. For questions please contact Brenda Michel at treasurer@portlandpeacecorps.org * Note this is an 'Overflow' event as the original joint PPCA / SEAPAX event in the Olympic Peninsula is sold out! -
2021 PPCA Family Camp-out - Rainier, OR
WHAT: 2021 Portland Peace Corps Association Local 4-Night Family Campout WHEN: Thursday afternoon, July 1st thru Monday noon, July 5th WHERE: Hudson-Parcher County Park, Columbia County, Rainier, OR about an hour from Ptld. * Group Site 14 * Hudson-Parcher Park is located four mile northwest of Rainier, which is 65 mins from Ptld. Turn off US 30 onto Larson Rd, then 1/3 mile to park entrance. Be advised that there’s no sign to the park entrance, so look for some kind of PC signage if we’re able to post something. Click here to buy Tickets! GPS: 46.09156, -122.99697 WHO: Everyone is welcome. It’s an awesome campground for kids! RV-ers: RVs, trailers, or campers should reserve their spot elsewhere in the park. Link to the Park on ReserveAmerica.com NOTICES: There’s only one picnic table provided and only one fire ring. Bring your own table! Bring container(s) for water. The spigot is close by but not in our site. There’s only one narrow strip of shade so bring your canopy. Bring masks for everyone in your crew. FEES: Regardless of when you arrive or leave, pay $16 for each person age 12 and over. Kids under 12 are free. Pay on the PPCA website or by cash or check at the campground. Find Treasurer Brenda Michel. REGISTER: Register ASAP on the PPCA website and/or by email to: Treasurer@crpca.org Include 5 details: Your name, how many total people in your crew including you, arrival and departure dates, how many kids, and how many vehicles. The limit is 32 adults fo this event. -
eUpdate April 18, 2021
PPCA eUpdate: Peter Hessler to Attend PPCA Book Club and More! Portland Peace Corps Association Board Elections Upcoming Events Book Club to Host Peter Hessler! Local Family Campout PPCA Book Club to Host Peter Hessler! Friday 4/23 6:30-8:00pm - Book Club This is a really big deal for PPCA members! We are hoping that more of you will be able to join us for this special meeting with the one and only Peter Hessler. Many of you read River Town during service and perhaps some of you also read the article he wrote for The New Yorker after Peace Corps China closed suddenly. Well known and respected in the Peace Corps community, we look forward to hosting him later this month! Review: © Publishers Weekly: New Yorker foreign correspondent Hessler (Oracle Bones) lived in Egypt during the months and years following the 2011 ouster of president Hosni Mubarak, and his account of learning Arabic, befriending a diverse array of characters, and gingerly probing the sore spots of Egyptian society is at once engrossing and illuminating. While Hessler lives in Cairo and much of the early action centers there, he ventures more widely than most foreigners in the country, and his reporting from sleepy upper Egyptian villages and remote Chinese development projects add complexity. Most of Hessler’s contacts get roughed up and imprisoned by the security services at one point or another, often for inscrutable reasons: “There was no point to the brutality-it served no larger purpose.” He returns frequently to the theme of internal tension and contradiction-that Egyptians “combined rigid tradition with ideas that could be surprisingly open-minded or nonconformist”-to contrast the brittle institutions of the state, such as courts, with the deep-seated social patterns and relationships that provide structure when the state is dysfunctional or ineffectual. Adroitly combining the color and pacing of travel writing and investigative journalism with the tools and insight of anthropological fieldwork and political theory, this stakes a strong claim to being the definitive book to emerge from the Egyptian revolution. Where to find it: Libraries: Clackamas Co | Ft Vancouver | Multnomah Co | Washington Co Vendors: Powell’s | Amazon | Barnes & Noble The Zoom link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84100648365?pwd=TUs0TUxTM2FuaStEVUE2ME1naURVUT09. For those for whom that link doesn't work, the Zoom ID is 841-0064-8365 and the passcode is 776434. PPCA Elections and Goodbye eUpdates! This past Sunday, our board met to conduct our annual elections, but this has been a strange year! Our PPCA President, Phyllis Shelton, commented that normally elections would take place at our well-attended monthly Sunday Potluck, but we have not had such events this year, so finding possible candidate to fulfill positions has been difficult. By unanimous decision, the PPCA board voted to postpone the transference of power for the following positions until June: President, Communications Coordinator, Advocacy Coordinator and Webmaster. However, we are really excited to welcome our new Membership Coordinator, Alexander Butler (Philippines 2018-2020), who we look forward to telling you more about in our May Newsletter. Also by unanimous decision, we have voted to say goodbye to these weekly eUpdates. With the launch of our new website, we would like to show membership a new way to discover the events that are going on each week. Our outgoing Communications Coordinator will be recording a video demonstration of how to use the new website for our May Newsletter. Our monthly Newsletter will continue to be delivered to your inboxes the first of each month! Please email us with any questions or concerns regarding any of these updates. If you are interested in filling any of the positions on our board, please let us know or attend our next PPCA Meeting on Sunday, May 16th at 7pm. PPCA Grant Cycle Reminder Are you an RPCV who would like help funding a service project or know of a PCV who will be returning to a site this summer and will want help funding a project? Read on! After a pandemic pause, PPCA’s grant program is back in action. The deadline for submissions in the current round is April 30th, with a total of $3,000 available to be distributed in this round. Decisions will be announced in mid-May. Though the timeline and total allocation differ slightly from what’s on our webpage (the program has been really dynamic as we respond to the pandemic), the rest of the description/process are current. Questions and applications go to grants@crpca.org. Other PPCA Events Tuesday 4/20 7:00-9:00pm - Writer's Workshop Great opportunity to share and improve your writing! The sessions will be held on Zoom from 7-9 pm. You are welcome to share fiction, non-fiction, poetry, tales of your Peace Corps Experience or other stories. Send in your name & email to be included in the Zoom meeting. mimisandersart@hotmail.com, The sessions will continue about every two weeks, Hosted by Mimi Sanders (Turkey 3) & Jenny Tsai (Fiji 90-92). Thank you so much to you both for keeping these workshops going through the pandemic! Every Wednesday 6:00-8:00pm - Oregon Food Bank Service (In Person) PPCA is volunteering at the Oregon Food Bank. We are packing food at the Volunteer Action Center, 7900 NE 33rd Drive Portland 97211. Must be at least 16 years of age, and sign up individually the previous week by Friday evening. Spaces are limited. We work individually at tables with strict covid hygiene procedures. For questions on signing up please contact Tom DeMeo at service@crpca.org PPCA Local Summer Family Campout 2021 Portland Peace Corps Assoc. LOCAL Summer Family Campout When: Thursday, July 1 through Monday July 5th Come for the day, an overnight or two, or all four nights! Where: Hudson Parcher County Park, Rainier OR. Group Site T014. 50 miles / 1 hr from Portland. Who: Everyone is welcome! This is a great site for families w/ kids. RVers: Go to the “Hudson-Parcher Park, Oregon” page on http://www.reserveamerica.com ASAP to reserve a spot for you and your RV. Hudson Parcher Park has 10 tent sites, 25 RV sites, a bike camping site, playgrounds for the kids, picnic tables, fire rings, volleyball courts, baseball fields, flushing toilets and hot showers. Newsletter Photo Contest Each month, one service photo from a PPCA member is featured in our Newsletter. If you would like a photo of your service to be included in a future Newsletter, please submit a photo from your Peace Corps service to communications@crpca.org and include 1) your country of service, 2) years served 3) Short caption to go with the photo (i.e. description of what is going on in the photo/where it was taken). As you Communications Coordinator, I have been having a lot of fun including more photos and graphics in these weekly publications. I am always looking for suggestions for how to make these publications more interesting, engaging and inviting, so do not hesitate to reach out with suggestions! Andrea Franke PPCA Communications Coordinator -
PPCA May Newsletter
PPCA NEWSLETTER The Portland Peace Corps Association Publication Volume 41, Issue 5 May 2021 CONTENTS: - Monthly Photo Contest - April Election Results and Openings - PPCA Summer Campout - Seattle RPCV Campout - Bayram - PPCA Map 2021 Events - Membership Report - How to Renew Your Membership İyi Bayramlar! (That is how you say happy Ramadan in Turkish! Keep reading for virtual RPCV Turkey Bayram event) This months' featured photo was submitted to us by PPCA member Maranee ‘Mimi’ Jones Sanders from her Peace Corps service in Turkey, where she served from 1963 to 1965 as a Home Ec. Volunteer in the Gaziantep villages. She taught new ways to wash clothes, sew, and make baby food. Thank you for your service! To have your photo considered for next month's Newsletter please email me at communications@crpca.org. We are almost out of photos to publish, so please send one if you have not already. Sometimes these newsletters get dumped into Gmails "promotions" category, so be sure to check back issues to see if your photo has been published! No need to resubmit any photos you have already sent in-- there is a possibility they will be featured down the line! Andrea Franke Outgoing Communications Coordinator May Election Results & Openings Meet our new Membership Coordinator! Returning to the Pacific Northwest from Peace Corps Philippines during the COVID-19 evacuation, Alexander landed on his feet in Portland. He holds a bachelor's degree from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and plans on returning to school in the fall to start his Masters at Portland State University. Alexander is passionate about sustainability, equity, and the community. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, running, and having a drink with friends. He is excited to serve the returned Peace Corps community as the Membership Coordinator for the PPCA. PPCA also wants to say a bit thank you to Bill Stein for having served as the Membership Coordinator for so long! Have no fear, bookworms, Bill will continue to serve as the PPCA Book Club Coordinator. PPCA is still looking to fill three more positions! Interested in joining the board? Please reach out to us! PPCA Summer Campout 2021 Portland Peace Corps Assoc. LOCAL Summer Family Campout When: Thursday, July 1 through Monday July 5th Come for the day, an overnight or two, or all four nights! Where: Hudson Parcher County Park, Rainier OR. Group Site T014. 50 miles / 1 hr from Portland. Who: Everyone is welcome! This is a great site for families w/ kids. RVers: Go to the “Hudson-Parcher Park, Oregon” page on http://www.reserveamerica.com ASAP to reserve a spot for you and your RV. Hudson Parcher Park has 10 tent sites, 25 RV sites, a bike camping site, playgrounds for the kids, picnic tables, fire rings, volleyball courts, baseball fields, flushing toilets and hot showers. Seattle RPCV Campout Bayram by Mimi Sanders, RPCV Turkey Join a Zoom meeting celebrating the Turkish holidays! Open to both RPCVs from Turkey or RPCVs that have served elsewhere and are interested to join! May sport day Sat May 22, 4-6pm, and Kurban Bayram Sat July 24 4-6th. We will make a toast from home. Bring your own drink (maybe some rakı??) to toast! Check with mimisandersart@hotmail.com. PPCA May 2021 Events Images by Andrea Franke, Communications Coordinator INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO: How to find out about PPCA events. This is a reminder that we are discontinuing weekly eUpdates, but there are many ways to find out about the events you would like to attend. Please check out this link for an instructional video of how to access the events calendar. Please continue to check PPCA's NEW website for updates on events: https://www.portlandpeacecorps.org/cpages/calendar-1 Tuesdays 5/4 & 5/18, 7:00 pm to 9:00pm - Writer's Workshop Great opportunity to share and improve your writing! The sessions will be held on Zoom from 7-9 pm. You are welcome to share fiction, non-fiction, poetry, tales of your Peace Corps Experience or other stories. Send in your name & email to be included in the Zoom meeting. mimisandersart@hotmail.com, The sessions will continue about every two weeks, Hosted by Mimi Sanders (Turkey 3) & Jenny Tsai (Fiji 90-92). Thank you so much to you both for keeping these workshops going through the pandemic! Every Wednesday 6:00-8:00pm - Oregon Food Bank Service PPCA is volunteering at the Oregon Food Bank. We are packing food at the Volunteer Action Center, 7900 NE 33rd Drive Portland 97211. Must be at least 16 years of age, and sign up individually the previous week by Friday evening. Spaces are limited. We work individually at tables with strict covid hygiene procedures. For questions on signing up please contact Tom DeMeo at service@crpca.org Wednesday 5/5 6:30-9:00pm - Book Group Sijie, Dai: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2001) Discussion: Wednesday, May 5, 2021, 6:30-8:00 pm. Online meeting via Zoom; e-mail bookclub@portlandpeacecorps.org for the login information. Review: © Publishers Weekly: The Cultural Revolution of Chairman Mao Zedong altered Chinese history in the 1960s and ’70s, forcibly sending hundreds of thousands of Chinese intellectuals to peasant villages for “re-education.” This moving, often wrenching short novel by a writer who was himself re-educated in the ’70s tells how two young men weather years of banishment, emphasizing the power of literature to free the mind. Sijie’s unnamed 17-year-old protagonist and his best friend, Luo, are bourgeois doctors’ sons, and so condemned to serve four years in a remote mountain village, carrying pails of excrement daily up a hill. Only their ingenuity helps them to survive. The two friends are good at storytelling, and the village headman commands them to put on “oral cinema shows” for the villagers, reciting the plots and dialogue of movies. When another city boy leaves the mountains, the friends steal a suitcase full of forbidden books he has been hiding, knowing he will be afraid to call the authorities. Enchanted by the prose of a host of European writers, they dare to tell the story of The Count of Monte Cristo to the village tailor and to read Balzac to his shy and beautiful young daughter. Luo, who adores the Little Seamstress, dreams of transforming her from a simple country girl into a sophisticated lover with his foreign tales. He succeeds beyond his expectations, but the result is not what he might have hoped for, and leads to an unexpected, droll and poignant conclusion. The warmth and humor of Sijie’s prose and the clarity of Rilke’s translation distinguish this slim first novel, a wonderfully human tale. Where to find it: Libraries: Clackamas Co | Ft Vancouver | Multnomah Co | Washington Co Vendors: Powell’s | Amazon | Barnes & Noble Monday 5/10 6:30-8:00pm - Salon Francophone Salon Francophone is a gathering of RPCVs who are French speakers. Many served in former French colonies, but others learned French by studying it in the US and others have lived in France. We welcome all levels. Currently our gatherings are being held every second Monday from 6:30 to 8:00 PM as a Zoom meeting. Please RSVP to francais@portlandpeacecorps.org to receive the Zoom link. Before the pandemic we enjoyed gatherings in restaurants, and it was fun to meet in person, but we were limited to conversing only with those who were nearest us. With Zoom, we have a chance for everyone to converse and share their stories. We have chosen topics ('Pets in the Peace Corps' was a recent topic) or shared the screen to show photos and talk about our experiences. Tom DeMeo recently gave a power point about his trip to Eritrea. We practice our French and enjoy getting to know other RPCVs. Sunday 5/16, 7:00 pm to 8:00pm - Membership Meeting We will be holding our monthly Membership Meeting the Sunday after Mother's Day! Are you interested in running for a PPCA position? We are still looking to fill the Communication Coordinator and Advocacy Coordinator Positions! Membership Meetings are open to all PPCA Members. The program will start at 7pm. Monday 5/31, 6:30 pm to 8:00pm - Pub Night We hope to see you again this month! This is a great way to link up with other RPCVs, hear interesting stories from around the world, and grab a drink among good virtual company. The Pub Nights will be virtual on Zoom for the foreseeable future. The link for the Zoom will be sent to folks who email asking for it - pubnight@crpca.org Service Report Numbers by Tabatha Rood, Advocacy Coordinator Take a look at everything we've done this year! NPCA asked advocacy coordinators to compile a summary of the service RPCVs do in their communities, and in turn use this information to advocate for the persistence of the Peace Corps and the impact we have for many years after service. If you have something to add or change, please send corrections to Tabatha at advocacy@portlandpeacecorps.org. Thanks to everyone for their dedication and volunteer hours, we are lucky to have such a great group! Link to report April Membership Report by Alexander Butler, Membership Coordinator On April 30, 2021, PPCA has 147 active members in 120 households, of which 22 members are in their free first year. On April 30, 2020, we had 189 active members in 162 households, of which 5 members were currently serving PCVs and 37 members were in their free first year. In April 2021 we gained 1 new member: Chris Foertsch (Mali 2002-2004). Welcome! In April 2021 the following 19 members renewed: Laura Alexander (Mongolia 2010-2013), Karen Cellarius (Hungary 1991-1993), Brian Fassett (Bulgaria 2004-2006), Kate Fassett (Bulgaria 2004-2006) , Jack Fones (Tonga 1976-1978), Gracie Johnson (Lesotho 2018-2020), CJ Johnson (Cameroon 1989-1991), Lauren Johnson (Cameroon 1989-1991), Marin Palmer (Paraguay 2007-2009), Elizabeth Samuels (Benin 1975-1977), Rick Samuels, Nancy Sander (Senegal 1976-1978), Crystal Smith (Thailand 1967-1969), George Smith (Thailand 1967-1969), Lisa Snell (Morocco 2003-2005), Jackie Van Anda (Honduras 1976-1978), Emily Vilorio (Panama 2007-2009), Marjan Wazeka (Pakistan 1963-1965), and J Marcus Wood (Libya 1966-1968). Thank you! In April 2021 dues amnesty was extended to 5 lapsed members, of which 2 had been in their free first year. How to Renew Your Membership You can mail your check for $20 (or $100 for a Supporting Membership) to CRPCA, P.O. Box 802, Portland, OR 97207, or, once our website is running again, go to http://www.crpca.org/checkout/ and click one of the "dues" buttons.
