Building Peace Ep. 12: $9 Million Raised, Built on a Community’s Efforts

Dear Supporters,



This week, Peace Corps Park crossed a significant milestone with $9 million raised to date; this year alone, our community has already given more than in all of 2025, and the season when most supporters traditionally give is still ahead of us.

Our campaign is moving faster than it ever has, and while some see such milestones simply as numbers – an “are we there yet?” moment on our way to making Peace Corps Park a reality in Washington, D.C. – to me it’s so much more. 

It’s a reflection of decades of effort, from a dedicated community of thousands who have believed in the importance of building this permanent tribute in our nation’s capital enough to devote countless hours to making it possible.

I want to tell you about one of those people, a leader whose efforts deserve special mention.

For 22 years, Jonathan Pearson led advocacy for the National Peace Corps Association, and I had the privilege of working alongside him for nearly 10 of them. Every year he brought returned Volunteers to Capitol Hill by the hundreds, to advocate for the Peace Corps, its budget and its values.

He coached them on how to make an effective case for support, and when the bill to authorize the construction of Peace Corps Park was first introduced in 2009, he knew this in-person advocacy would be critical to its success.

“One of the key elements of our pitch,” he remembers, “was that this authorization would not include any federal funding – we were just looking for their blessing, knowing that the burden was on us, on our community, to make it happen.”

The commitment to this being a fully community-driven project was ambitious, but critical to avoid the stumbling block that happens with the vast majority of legislation: asking for public money to make it happen.

For years, Jonathan and other key advocates like the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation's former president Roger Lewis and Secretary Bonnie Gottlieb held face-to-face meetings with legislators. One key moment came in 2010, when RPCVs in central Washington were mobilized in the district of Congressman Doc Hastings, who at the time was the highest ranking Republican on the House Natural Resources Committee, that would decide whether to move the bill forward or not. 

Jonathan remembers a key moment in advancing the legislation: “During a district office meeting organized by the advocates, one of them came face to face with Doc Hastings; he looked him straight in the eye and asked him, directly, to support this bill and get it out of committee. That’s what worked and the legislation finally moved forward.” 

Meetings like those are why this Park can exist. Building a memorial on federal land near the National Mall takes an act of Congress, and Congress acts when constituents keep showing up. 

Jonathan retired this year, and the massive effort he coordinated is now taking physical form in Madison, Wis., with groundbreaking in Washington, D.C. getting closer with every dollar raised. 

Looking back, Jonathan recognizes the significance of the community’s efforts. “I feel excited and prideful that I’ll be able, some day in the not too distant future, to visit the site with friends or family and say ‘I played a part in that’,” he says. “It’s something that so many people will be able to say – whether they wrote a letter or made a phone call, they will be able to walk by and take pride in this.”

Every stage of this project has been carried by the Peace Corps community: first the votes, now the dollars. If you walked those halls with Jonathan, or took the time to reach out to a legislator, you are part of this story too.  

And with the campaign entering its final phase, this is the next step of that same work. We hope you’ll join our community of supporters and add your name to Peace Corps Park’s permanent donor wall with a contribution.

Yours in service,

Glenn A. Blumhorst
Chief Advancement Officer
Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation

President and CEO, National Peace Corps Association (2013-22)
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Guatemala (1988-91)

GBlumhorst@PeaceCorpsCommemorative.org

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PeaceCorpsCommemorative.org

PEACE CORPS COMMEMORATIVE FOUNDATION

5636 Connecticut Avenue, NW Ste 42143
Washington, DC 20015

The Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation is the trade name of the Peace Corps Foundation,
a District of Columbia 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
EIN: 01-0554700