Building Peace Ep. 4: The Puzzle at the Heart of the Park
Building Peace Ep. 4: The Puzzle at the Heart of the Park
Dear Supporters,
When I visited Quarra Stone Co. with the Peace Corps Park design team a few months ago, I was struck by a detailed blueprint showing the 228 unique pavers of Virginia Mist granite making up the world map at the center of the Park.
I stared at it for a long time, and I can’t stop thinking about what it represents: an interlocking puzzle, each stone unique with its own exact shape and thickness, working together to create what will be the most accurate map of the world represented in stone in Washington, D.C.
“Thousands of hours of discussion have gone into this layout, over the years, with everyone on the design team and with our partners at Quarra,” project manager John Grant told me.
A few weeks ago, the project reached the final step before fabrication, called "100% slabbing." Every one of those 228 pavers has now been cut from a parent block, measured and prepped for the saw, ready to proceed as soon as we can raise the funds needed to give the green light.
Nothing about this map is generic. Nothing is a repeat. It is, quite literally, a 228-piece puzzle that only fits together one way.
Our design team chose that specific way after considering dozens of different ways to show the world. They chose the Peirce projection, with the North Pole at the center, because it’s the most accurate representation of the relative sizes of the world’s landmasses.
“We wanted the map to be as accurate as possible,” lead designer Larry Kirkland said, “because Peace Corps folks, more than most people, know the exact geography of the places they serve when they go abroad and we had to get that right.”
One result of using this projection, though, is that if you use latitude and longitude lines to separate the pavers, the pieces farthest from the center become so heavy that it makes them unwieldy to work with. That means the team had to design and place each seam and joint deliberately to facilitate shaping and to integrate seamlessly with the varying textures of land and sea.
“We created a lot of extra work for ourselves and for the fabricator,” Larry admits, “but it’s for the right reasons.”
As with the approach to the Park’s inscriptions, this is the kind of engineering that disappears into the experience of the place. A premium execution that’s meant to be felt, not noticed. It reflects the whole discipline of this design team: complexity in service of something that reads as simple, even inevitable, once it's built.
With the pavers ready and Quarra’s expert team standing by, they are just waiting on one thing from us — the notice to proceed. We can't issue that until we've closed the gap on funding.
Every dollar raised now is a dollar closer to the day we can make that phone call and tell Quarra to start carving.
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)
Campaign Progress
To date, this dedicated community has raised $8,347,013 of the $14,000,000 budget for Peace Corps Park and its digital companion experience, leaving us $5.7 million from our goal.
We have recently launched a Friends of Sam Farr campaign to raise $250,000 in honor of “Mr. Peace Corps” to include his name on the on-site recognition plaque at Peace Corps Park – so far we have raised $39,752 toward that goal. If you would like your donation to be counted toward that campaign, please indicate it when you make your gift.
We gratefully thank the following 222 supporters who have made new donations and/or pledges since June 11, 2026, contributing $192,690 toward the completion of Peace Corps Park:
* Indicates new gift in addition to previous contributions
Explore the full list of donors here
$100,000 - $249,999
Roger W. Sant*
$10,000 - $19,999
Anonymous
$5,000 - $9,999
Gary Mitchell*
Marian Rivman*
Sally-Christine Rodgers
Ralph Thurston
$1,000 - $4,999
Albert H. Tony Barclay*
Rowland Bennett and Linda Thompson*
Rick and Karen Blumhorst*
David E Bonior
John and Patricia Brissenden
Dale Byrne
Dennis De Santis*
Brady James Deaton
Robert Green*
Horan Family
Liz Fanning
Steven S. Fischman*
Pamela George and William David Austin*
Peter M. Hansen*
Matthew Hoffman
Gyöngy Laky
James Linker
Mark Massen
Susan McCabe
Peter McPherson*
William C. Piatt*
Maria Luisa Posada
Jerilyn Reid*
Nadia Rockwood*
Edmund J. Seiders
Carol Spahn
Donald Spiers*
Margaret and Dwight Steen*
Robert Stewart
Carlos Jose Torres
Linda Vorhis James*
Ambassador Pamela White (retired)*
Aaron Williams*
Other gifts to $999
Herbert Adelman
Donald Martin Anderson*
Thomas Appel*
Terry Applegate*
David Armanasco
Georgina Armstrong
Annie Artz
John Baird*
Sean Baker
Ted Balestreri
Pamela Barry
Jessica Barton
Sabrina Barton
Glenn Bechler
Keith Bell*
R.J. Bertero
Byron Blomquist*
Glenn Blumhorst*
John Boesel
Kathleen Brandes*
Richard Brandsma
Gay Brookes*
John Brugman
J Ronald Campbell*
Benny Cespedes*
Katie Christ*
Sehee Chung
Matthew Clausen
Jac A Conaway*
Alyssa Conn
Stephen Cristofar
Spencer Critchley
Nancy Dalzell
Ann de Grassi
Roger Dessert
Kevin and Kay Dixon*
Anne Dodge
Rochelle Dornatt
Lindi Doud
David Dreier
Richard Drum*
Helene Ballmann Dudley*
Joelle F. Dumont
Troy Dunham
Peter Ehmke
Linda Eiler
Charles Elliott
Mari Ennis-Applegate*
Robert Ericksen
Denise Estrada
Bernie Fatla
Steven A. Gann
John Geiger*
Raymond T. Gilman and Kelly A. Nagle
Bonnie S. Gottlieb*
Frank Graetch
Luli Emmons Graetch
Betty Graff
Robert Green
Jim Greenwood
Leila Hall
Erika Harris*
Casey Hengen
Carolyn Heyder
Marc Higgins
Saunders Hillyer
Gerben Hoeksma
Ingrid Hostetter
Shirin Hostetter
Mark Hurley
Ron & Judy Inskeep
Stuart Jablon
Fred and Ann Jealous
Eric Johnson
Patrick Johnston
Neil Jorgensen*
James Justus
Kenneth Karem
Michael Kavanaugh*
Nancy Kelly*
Nancy Kish*
Zachary Klim
Kathy Kundert
Kathryn Larson*
David Lassiter
Peter Leofanti
Mel Levine
Judith Livingston*
Lucinda Lloyd
Jay Lubin
Nancy Neaher Maas*
Greg Marano
Thomas Mark
Stanley Maticka
India McKinney
Seth Melchert
Judy Miller
Cynthia Miller
Elisabeth Morten
Bill and Sue Moser
Diana Murphy
Ben Nathanson
Josh Newman
Laura Niven
David Norris
Jack O’Connell
Wendy (Draper) Ograin
Dave Osgood
Julie Ostendorf
Karen Otsea
Barbara J. Palmer
Lorin Peters
Robert Peterson
William C. Piatt*
Daniel Pierce
Jennifer Pittenger
Bill Press
John & Eileen Quigley
Sandy Rader
Mike Raggett
Michael Rainey*
Lawrence Rebecchi
Laurie Richardson
Donald Rogers*
Julia Rogers
Connie Saldana
Douglas Schmitz
Elizabeth Schutt*
Mark Shelley
Douglas Shifflet*
Michael Shifter
Mark Silberstein
David Skaggs
Mary Speck
Loren Steck
Lori Stewart
Jon Stuefloten
Thomas Sutfin
Christina Tedder*
Brise Tencer
Bonnie Thie Cowart
Peter Vollweiler
Elizabeth Walsh
Malcolm Weintraub
Caitie Whelan
Gabrielle White
Theresa and Vaughan Wiles
Jean Wintemute*
Lisa Wooninck
Chuck Zebrowski
Nancy Zweng
PEACE CORPS PARK SUSTAINERS
(Contributions from monthly recurring donors)
Anonymous
Jane Bardon
Linda Barnett
Matthew Baysden
Rick and Karline Bird
Ellen Davis-Zapata
Elizabeth Downes
Greg Emerson
Jennifer Erie
JP Feighery
Elizabeth Ford
Luis Manuel Garzon-Negreiros
G David Hicks
Elisabeth Hinshaw-Osgood
Peter Hofman
Ann L. Hopkins
Marcy Kelley
Laura Kettel Khan
Linda Kolko
Ashley Leinweber
Roni Lerner Love
Deborah Manget
Judy Marcouiller
Cynda McMahon Family
Marty Mueller
Nancy Nuechterlein
Richard Pyle
Shawn Reagan
Jessica Rogers
Deidre M. Schilling
Robert Smythe
John Sommerhauser
Pete Stubben
James D Wagner
Mary Lou Weathers
Kathleen Williams-Ging
Charles Wolf
Gail Yates
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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
