A Call to Peace

Fifty years ago, the dream of sending thousands of Americans abroad to foster peace and prosperity became reality with the signing of the Peace Corps Act on September 22, 1961.

In this anniversary year, we enlisted Hart Research to survey more than 11,000 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, representing the 200,000 who have served in 139 countries since the first volunteers left for Ghana and Tanganyika in 1961. We wanted to understand what inspired them to join; how they advanced the three Peace Corps goals; how their service transformed their lives; and what ideas they had to improve the Peace Corps.