Dear Houston PCA,

Today we have news worth celebrating.

The Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation has received the largest gift in its 25-year history: A $1 million donation from Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Eswatini from 1983 to 1985.

Reed's generosity brings the total raised to $8 million of the $14 million needed to build Peace Corps Park, and comes at a pivotal moment in our campaign.

The granite for the Park has been quarried and shipped to our fabrication partner in Madison, Wis., where our design and leadership teams recently gathered to review the samples and approve the fabrication techniques that will turn the vision into a reality in Washington, D.C.

With all elements reviewed, we are pleased to report that the construction timeline is on schedule. Reed’s gift gives welcome momentum to the final phase of the fundraising effort, and we are hopeful that we can close the remaining gap to begin fabrication in July.

Reed has long been a quiet icon in the RPCV community, and one of its most generous supporters. In 2020, he made a $1 million gift to the National Peace Corps Association to support evacuated volunteers, and when I joined the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation in 2022, I knew Reed would want to know what we were up to.

He has followed the project’s progress ever since, and has been particularly interested in our plans for a robust digital companion that would extend the Park’s educational impact far beyond the National Mall. 

Senator Chris Dodd, who serves on our Advisory Board and has known Reed for years, joined us in bringing him this update firsthand. We are deeply grateful to both of them.

"My time in Eswatini serving with the Peace Corps influenced everything I have done since. This memorial is long overdue and I'm proud to help make it a reality for every Volunteer and local partner that welcomed us," Reed said. "Peace Corps Park will be a key part of inspiring future generations to serve and I invite everyone in this community to join me in ensuring it becomes a reality. This Park is for all of us."

We couldn't agree more.

To mark this milestone and the transition into this new phase of the journey, we will be moving from our regular monthly newsletter to more frequent dispatches from the fabrication shop and from the front lines of the fundraising effort, as we work to close the remaining gap between us and breaking ground, which can happen as early as this fall if we meet our goals.

$6 million stands between this moment and the completion of Peace Corps Park. That gap could be closed by one visionary donor, a handful of major gifts, or the entire Peace Corps community rallying together, and we are actively pursuing all three. Reed's gift is an invitation. We hope you will answer it.

$8 million raised. $6 million to go. The granite has been quarried and stands ready for fabrication. Help us make sure it has a home.

Yours in service,

Glenn A. Blumhorst
Chief Advancement Officer
Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation

GBlumhorst@PeaceCorpsCommemorative.org

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