February Newsletter: We’re all builders now

Dear Supporters,

As the winter season continues to bring tangible evidence of progress in the construction of Peace Corps Park, I am reminded that, no matter our specific role in this historic effort to create a new federal monument in Washington, D.C., we are all builders.

In Lithonia, Ga., the Silver Cloud granite that will form Peace Corps Park’s trademark benches has been quarried, cleaned, split, and readied for transport to the fabricator in Wisconsin. In Virginia, the Virginia Mist granite that will be cut into pavers and textured for the Park’s world map centerpiece has been purchased and readied for transport as well. 

Most recently, a ⅔-scale mockup of the granite benches' hand details was crafted in plaster to guide the robotic shaping process. It’s a great example of the human touch needed to ensure the highest quality for this landmark project, and you can read more about it later in this newsletter.

So while the building process moves along, my own efforts to build Peace Corps Park through our fundraising campaign move along with it: We’ve now raised almost $7 million, and I’m fully dedicated to building the coalition that will get us to the finish line.

Our communications team is building the Park by sourcing and sharing the stories of our notable advocates; our development team is building the Park by enlisting an ever increasing number of fundraising partners; our Board of Directors and Advisory Board are building the Park by relentlessly donating their time, resources and expertise to the effort.

Most importantly, every single person and every single group that has donated to the initiative is building Peace Corps Park by demonstrating the broad community of support for this important symbol of our nation’s story. 



We’d like that community to include everyone who shares the ideals and values represented by the Peace Corps, so thank you for anything you can do to spread the word (like forwarding this email) and grow the Peace Corps Park footprint as we build momentum toward groundbreaking.

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

Details matter when operating on the larger-than-life scale (in both the physical and symbolic sense) of a new national monument, and when details matter, there’s no substitute for the human touch of a skilled craftsperson. 

While the Silver Cloud granite that will make up Peace Corps Park’s trademark benches will be carved and shaped by robotic machines, the critical ingredient in faithfully bringing artist Larry Kirkland’s and his design team’s design to life remains the artistry of the human hand.

Models of the benches have been created at various steps in the process to refine the designs themselves and to inform other aspects of construction, like visualizing how to cut the granite blocks to optimize for the direction of the grain pattern. 

As Peace Corps Park gets closer to taking its place among the national monuments and memorials in our nation’s capital, the models have similarly gotten closer to the actual size of the finished product.

This latest step in the process is a set of ⅔-scale models of the open hand forms that will become the end segments of each of the Park’s benches, mocked up in plaster by expert sculptor Christopher Collins. With his careful eye shaping the specific angles and depths of every crease, every fold, every ridge represented on the open-hand design, the full-size version is sure to make a memorable impact on all those who visit..

Richard Swarttz named Peace Corps Acting Director

Daniel Dayton joins the Peace Corps Park team

Help the Park, help yourself at tax time

It’s tax season again, which reminds us that supporting Peace Corps Park through an individual retirement account (IRA) can be a great way to make a positive impact on the world while reducing your overall tax burden.

The two key items every donor should know about are Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) and Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs):

• QCDs: A Qualified Charitable Distribution allows people age 70½ or older to donate up to $100,000 per year directly from their IRA to a qualified nonprofit like the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation. A QCD can count toward your required minimal distribution (see below), and because it goes straight to charity, it is excluded from taxable income.
• RMDs: If you are over 73, you are required to withdraw a certain amount from your Traditional IRA every year, and that amount is considered taxable income. Depending on that minimum (determined by your age and the balance in the account), you can use a QCD to meet that requirement and thus decrease your taxable income accordingly.

You can find more information on the Ways to Give page on our website, but we hope you will consider including Peace Corps Park in your tax planning to ensure your finances have the greatest impact possible. And if you have already done so, thank you very much for your support!

Include the Park in your long-term planning

After the construction of Peace Corps Park, the Peace Corps Foundation will continue to pursue its mission of elevating the Peace Corps brand and upholding our community’s shared values of service and global partnership. Donors looking to include a gift to the Foundation in their legacy planning can be confident that no matter when their gift is made, it will support the entire Peace Corps community for generations to come.

Thankfully, it’s very easy to include Peace Corps Park as a beneficiary in a Will or retirement account, and it’s a great way to make a commitment with no immediate cost. 

Learn more at the Ways to Give page on our website, where you can also download a simple form to notify us of your planned gift.

If you or your group are interested in learning more about the construction planning phase of Peace Corps Park, Glenn regularly travels to meet with stakeholders across all 50 states. He is always happy to share the vision in person—and there’s a good chance he’s already planning to be in your area! Just reply to this email and let Glenn know if you’d like to arrange a meetup. Up next:

Feb. 27-28      Boston

March 18-24  Southern California

Connect with us on social media

Whether or not you’ve been able to support the project with a donation, an easy way to amplify your impact is to give us a boost on social media. Follow us and re-share our posts to help raise awareness in your network!

@PeaceCorpsPark on Instagram | @PeaceCorpsPark on Facebook | @PeaceCorpsPark on LinkedIn

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