Celebrating 50 Years

In 2011 Peace Corps will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Its legacy of service over 50 years is in great measure due to the individuals who have dedicated themselves to promoting the organization's mission of world peace and friendship. Peace Corps honors their contribution and celebrates the accomplishments achieved by the work of Volunteers, staff, and host countries over the last five decades.

As we look forward to the next great chapter of the Peace Corps, we acknowledge its storied history with these four significant moments:

• October 14, 1960 - President John F. Kennedy’s University of Michigan speech that inspired the agency’s creation

  At 2 a.m. on October 14, 1960, then-Senator John F. Kennedy spoke to a gathering of the students at the University of Michigan who were waiting for hours to hear the presidential candidate speak in Ann Arbor. On the steps of the University of Michigan Student Union, President Kennedy challenged the students to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries, an idea that inspired the creation of the Peace Corps.

• March 1, 1961 - President Kennedy signs an executive order establishing the Peace Corps.
  Peace Corps Act
• August 28, 1961, President Kennedy hosts a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden to honor the inaugural group of Volunteers, who will serve in Ghana and Tanzania.

• September 22, 1961 Congress approves legislation formally authorizing Peace Corps

  The Peace Corps Act mandate remains the same after 50 years, to "promote world peace and friendship" through three goals:

  1. To help the people of interested countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained men and women.
  2. To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
  3. To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

Contribute to the Peace Corps Digital Library

Now is a perfect time to consider adding your experience to the Peace Corps Digital Library. This resource provides a searchable collection of select electronic Peace Corps materials from 1961-present. Peace Corps invites current and returned Volunteers to share stories and photos from their Peace Corps experience. Your submissions can help tell the Peace Corps story for each generation of the Peace Corps, from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and on through to the present.
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Donate to the 50th Anniversary Fund

The Peace Corps' 50th anniversiary is an opportunity for education and engagement by honoring its past. As we explore initiatives surrounding the 50th anniversary that support the agency's mission and legacy, we invite your involvement by making a contribution to the Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Fund.
Donate now

Peace Corps 50th Anniversary
1111 20th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20526
Phone: 202.692.2183, E-mail: 50thanniversary@peacecorps.gov