Peace Corps Worldwide

    Peace Corps celebrates 60th anniversary, Tuesday, July 20, 1:30 p.m. Program presented by Barry Hillenbrand (Ethiopia 1963-65), former TIME magazine correspondent. Registration # 914400-17. On the program will be a discussion of:“Peace Corps Volunteers End Smallpox In the 1970s – 73 Peace Corps volunteers helped the World Health Organization eradicate smallpox in Ethiopia and ultimately the world. The story has important parallels to today’s battle against Covid-19. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Peace Corps, Barry Hillenbrand, former Time magazine correspondent, will share the experiences of these remarkable volunteers, as memorialized in Eradicating Smallpox in Ethiopia. • July 20 Tuesday 1:30-2:30 p.m. Virtual #914400-17 1 session” Flourishing After 55 in Arlington: 55+ Programs are virtual and outdoors. A 55+ Membership is required to participate ($20 annual fee). To join or register, go to registration.arlingtonva.us or call 703-228-4747. Local Media Connection LLC Independent, locally owned publishers of the Connection Newspapers, 15 . . .

  Please join Lew (and other writers) on Thursday, July 15 at 6 PM (PDT) as he reads from his new novel Solomon’s Net. Gallery Bookshop in Mendocino, California, requests that you register at their website:  https://www.gallerybookshop.com/event/authors-night-online-0 Solomon’s Net – A Tale Of Madness It’s the summer of 1973. Steve Williams, recently terminated Peace Corps Volunteer is being treated for paranoid schizophrenia by his doctors in Iowa. But Steve knows the real problem is evil Zar demons and only his Ethiopian lover Abebech can help. However, they’d never let Steve back into Ethiopia, not after what he did. Based on real events, through Steve, we explore how delusional disorders were treated by Western psychiatry in the early 1970s. Through Abebech we learn how traditional Ethiopian healers treated madness. • Solomon’s Net: A Tale Of Madness by Lew  Mermelstein (Ethiopia 1970 – 73) Does Not Apply, publisher January 2020 398 pages

https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-takes-steps-return-service-overseas/   “June 30, 2021 Agency will resume inviting volunteers to serve in countries that have met rigorous health, security and safety standards Today, the Peace Corps announced that it is a step closer to returning volunteers to overseas service. The agency will resume inviting volunteers to serve at posts that have met a comprehensive set of health, safety and security criteria. “Following 15 months of global isolation, tireless work by our staff around the world and incredible patience from our applicants and host country partners, the Peace Corps is moving forward in the process of returning to our overseas posts,” said Acting Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn. “The Peace Corps is advancing with an abundance of caution, flexibility and pragmatism, but also with so much hope about all the important work that is ahead of us.” While the COVID-19 pandemic remains a dynamic challenge, the agency has developed a . . .

Charles C. Woodard, Jr., “Chuck” of Medford, NJ and formerly of Hastings-on-Hudson, NY passed away on June 11, 2021. He was 97. Chuck Woodard was born in Los Angeles, CA in 1923. He enrolled at UCLA in 1941 and subsequently joined Army ROTC after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. While still at UCLA he renewed an acquaintance with Margaret McHaffie, his future wife. He famously asked her out and when she said she was interested in another man and asked why he would want a date he replied “you’re better than a blind date”. In January 1944 he was ordered to Fort Benning, Georgia for infantry officer training. While there he and Margaret became engaged and set a wedding date in June 1944. Chuck was unable to get enough leave to get back to Los Angeles for the planned wedding so they instead met in New Orleans, where they married . . .

Appropriations Subcommittee calls for a $430.5 million budget for 2022 – an increase of 5 percent. It points to the first meaningful increase in funding in six years. “By Jonathan Pearson (UPDATE – June 28, 2021, 8:30 PM Eastern Time): On a voice vote, the House Appropriations Subcommittee for State/Foreign Operations approved a $62.2 billion international affairs budget for Fiscal Year 2022. This represents a 12 percent, $6.7 billion increase over the current fiscal year. Included in this budget is $430.5 million for the Peace Corps, a $20 million increase over current funding. In brief remarks, Subcommittee Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) referenced the Peace Corps as one of several programs that will provide “needed humanitarian assistance” around the world. No amendments to the bill were made, but that could possibly change when the full Appropriations Committee considers this funding package on Thursday morning.”   Here is the earlier Report from the National Peace Corps . . .

from Donald Levin’s Blog   This week’s guest: Doris Rubenstein (Ecuador 1971-73) I’m pleased to host award-winning author Doris Rubenstein. Doris is a native of Detroit and a graduate of the University of Michigan. After two years in Peace Corps/Ecuador, she started a long career with non-profit organizations and in the field of philanthropy. She is the author of five books besides her newest one. You’re Always Welcome at the Temple of Aaron won the 2009 USCJ Schechter Award, and The Journey of a Dollar was a Silver Franklin Award winner from the IBPA. Doris has lived in Minnesota since 1984 and received her M.A. from Augsburg University there in 1993; her thesis won a Kenneth Clark Award for Research in Leadership from the Center for Creative Leadership (N.C.).  She has been a regular contributor to numerous local and national publications on the subjects of Philanthropy and the Arts. This week Doris will talk . . .

  The Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders are proud to announce their squad for the 2021 season. This year’s team features 11 new members, as well as 21 returning veterans. Hundreds of candidates auditioned, spanning across 24 states in addition to Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, and Canada. Over the course of three months and several elimination rounds, 48 contestants made it to the final audition, where they showcased their talent and individuality with a creative solo performance. The 11 new members feature a published author and historian, press secretary for the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, and Operation Smile global partnerships coordinator who recently worked in Koforidua, Ghana to coordinate a cleft lip and cleft palate surgical program. “We are thrilled to announce our squad for the 2021 season,” said Barbara Zaun, Eagles Director of Entertainment Teams. “As ambassadors for the organization, the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders embrace meaningful . . .