“Our goal is not just the survival of America — it is the survival of our whole planet. When our deeds match our ideals, we will be living life as it ought to be lived. This is not just an American dream — it is a universal need.”
Our Quote of the Week encapsulates the motivation behind the Peace Corps — to nurture Americans’ ability to foster connection and collaboration in ways that ensure a safe and prosperous future for all of us.
On March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed the executive order that created the Peace Corps; he would appoint Sargent Shriver to be the Director of the program three weeks later, on March 21. As we mark the 64th anniversary of this milestone during what has become “Peace Corps Week”, we thought we’d share these words from Sargent Shriver’s Speech at the National Peace Corps Association Reception, which speak to the intended impact of Peace Corps both domestically and internationally.
As those who have served as Volunteers know, the Peace Corps’ mission is “to promote world peace and friendship through community-based development and intercultural understanding.” This mission is achieved through three goals:
- To help the countries interested in meeting their need for trained people.
- To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
- To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
Through immersive encounters that are both practical as well as interpersonal, Peace Corps Volunteers forge bonds that hopefully benefit the Volunteers, the communities abroad in which they serve, and ultimately, the communities that the Volunteers return to when they arrive home. From its inception, the program was intended to create a virtuous cycle of collaboration and mutual understanding that could, as the mission suggests, promote world peace and friendship.
The theme for this year’s Peace Corps Week is “Tales of transformation”. Indeed, the program itself has evolved and transformed through time, and since the COVID pandemic in particular, has begun offering a variety of options to serve the 60 countries that currently need Volunteers.
It is no secret that the current administration is retreating from the spirit of collaboration and understanding that Peace Corps was meant to foster. As we navigate these uncertain times, may we all raise our voices to support a foreign policy that promotes peace. As Sargent Shriver reminds us, the survival of our planet depends on it.
Like this quote? Read the speech and subscribe to receive our Quote of the Week by email.
