Dr. Josephine (Jody) K. Olsen was sworn in as the 20th Director of the Peace Corps on March 30, 

2018. For More Information, Please Click: Peace Corps Director

May 11, 2018 - Landscape Inspectors Association of Florida, Miami-Dade Chapter, gave Joy Klein (Jamaica) the Bob Brennan ROOTS award today for all the work she has done to help the landscape industry. 

April 22, 2018

See More Photos of the Bon Voyage Picnic by Clicking on " Our Photo Album " to the left

If you are a PCV or RPCV and plan to seek employment and/or accommodations in South Florida in the near future, drop us a line at rpcvsf@rpcvsf.org. We are wondering if there is interest, and if so, thinking of posting your search in the Members Only section of our website. So for jobs, we would need something brief with your name and contact information, your educational and work background, and what kind of work you will be seeking. We cannot promise anything more than a bit of publicity to our members on our website.

Travel, a program of RPCVSF,  has been requested by 2 non-Peace Corps friends to consider a repeat of our great 2016 safari to Namibia for 15 days between September 15, 2018, and October 10, 2018.. Travel needs 4 more interested people to ask the travel agency to put it together with exact dates and pricing. After that, Travel needs 6 paying commitments to make the safari happen. This is a customized safari which means it is a few days shorter than most to fit RPCV work schedules better. This also means the boring stuff (Yes,. Even in Africa, some things are boring.) has been replaced by more interesting things. You will not find our itinerary on any safari with any travel company.

Namibia is the most interesting safari country in Africa. It has animals, sights, geography, South African wine, and 150 years of history from Boer wars to world wars to Mandela. Don’t believe Travel? Request a copy of Why Namibia? From travel@rpcvsf.org. Or just use the same address to say you are interested in the safari. When Travel receives 4 more interested people, the safari comes together with exact dates and prices. Until then, there is NO COMMITMENT. Click Namibia I to read about our 2016 trip to Namibia.

For the Story, Please Click the following: Travel goes to Central Africa.pdf 

Cinco de Mayo - 2018

( Please See "Our Photo Album" to the left for more Photos )

The Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of the Gulf Coast of Florida hosted World Heritage Festival Saturday, April 28, 2018, at Bayfront Park, Sarasota, from 11 am to 3 pm, in partnership with “Embracing Our Differences.” RPCVs showed displays representing the seven regions Peace Corps Volunteers serve in and shared their stories. We had artifacts, sights and music from all over the world. Hundreds of people attended and  what a wonderful surprise when students from Manatee School of the Performing Arts and Sarasota School for the Arts and Sciences did cultural dances for us! That spontaneity was so uplifting! All the students that were there contributed so much and worked steadfastly to make sure our event was a success! (A note from Leita Kaldi)

More at: http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/rpcvs-of-gulf-coast-of-florida-hosted-world-heritage-festival/

On April 8th, 2018, a group of RPCVs and their friends and families visited the Everglades National Park to tour the Nike Hercules Missile site that was activated during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. For more information about tours, just Google "everglades missile base tour."

RPCVSF Members: If you e-mail us a few project pictures, we will try to post them on our website

1968 - Building Bridges in The Putamayo in Colombia. Pictured on the left, PCV Leader McGrath.

This year 29 RPCVSF members, 11 Kiwanis Club of Biscayne Bay members and six park rangers from the Everglades National Park hosted 78 wonderful kids and 37 accompanying adults from five homeless shelters for a day in the Florida Everglades. The total attendance including guests was 169.

For more photos of the day, please click on "Our Photo Album" on the left side menu.

Everglades National Park is a 1.5-million-acre wetlands preserve on the southern tip of the U.S. state of Florida. Often compared to a grassy, slow-moving river, the Everglades is made up of coastal mangroves, sawgrass marshes and pine flatwoods that are home to hundreds of animal species.

 Among the Everglades' abundant wildlife are the endangered leatherback turtle, Florida panther and West Indian manatee. The Everglades is the only place in the world where the American alligator and the American Crocodile coexist.

The Grove Spot - January 5th, 2017

Left to right: Aldo (Costa Rica); Genevieve (Malawi); Justin (Honduras); Doris (Venezuela); Ted (Philippines); Kathi (South Korea); Willie (Ecuador); Greg (Nigeria); John (Ukraine)

A Happy New Year from HELP   And...   We met our match... and more!   HELP would not be able to send 1 student to school let alone 165 if it wasn't for you. We are grateful for all our supporters.    Thank you!

RPCVSF's 2017 donations to HELP generated by our Fair Trade Market sales typically cover Room and Board for 2 students.  With the matching effect of this year’s donation, it’s 4 !!!!  Keep shopping.

     

   

On Friday, December 8^th, Mary Lamberts and Doris Vincent of RPCVSF traveled to the offices of the Redlands Christian Migrant Association in Immokalee, to deliver a check (donations collected at our AGM and matched by RPCVSF) and lots of toys for RCMA kids (collected at our holiday party).

RCMA helps infants as young as 6 weeks old, and school-aged children in their charter school and after-school programs, where children receive the professional loving care and education that is so important for their future success.  It brings peace of mind to parents who leave their treasures in RCMA’s safe hands while they work to get ahead. 

The RPCVSF Board of Directors selected RCMA to receive the money and toys we collected, since many of the migrants temporarily lost their livelihoods when Mother Nature flooded out crops in the Immokalee area, making it difficult for the workers to buy Christmas gifts for their children.   Our sincere thanks (and those of RCMA) go to all RPCVs who made donations.

Thanking Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of South Florida for our donation through the Peace Corps Partnership program for the Labor and Delivery Building at the Ltimbo Clinic. 

October 7th, 2017 Spirit of Service Learning Award Dinner

Photo of Kindergarten thru 12 Finalists and Winners with

Stephanie King from the Teacher of the Year Coalition