[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 125, 112th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 8631 of February 28, 2011

50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed an Executive Order
establishing the Peace Corps, forever changing the way America sees the
world and the world sees us. Today, one of President Kennedy's most
enduring legacies can be found in the over 200,000 current and returned
Peace Corps Volunteers who have collectively given over a half-century
of service to the cause of peace. On its 50th anniversary, the United
States Peace Corps remains an enduring symbol of our Nation's commitment
to encouraging progress, creating opportunity, and fostering mutual
respect and understanding throughout the world.
Over the past five decades, Peace Corps Volunteers have served in nearly
140 countries, bringing a wealth of practical assistance to those
working to build better lives for themselves and their communities. From
the first group of volunteers to arrive in Ghana and Tanzania in

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August 1961, they have been emissaries of hope and goodwill to the far
corners of our world, strengthening the ties of friendship between the
people of the United States and those of other countries. Living and
working alongside those they serve, volunteers help address changing and
complex global needs in education, health and HIV/AIDS, business and
information technology, agriculture, environmental protection, and youth
development. With each village that now has access to clean water, each
young woman who has received an education, and each family empowered to
prevent disease because of the service of a Peace Corps Volunteer,
President Kennedy's noble vision lives on.
In our increasingly interconnected world, the mission of the Peace Corps
is more relevant today than ever. Returned volunteers, enriched by their
experiences overseas, bring a deeper understanding of other cultures and
traditions back to their home communities in the United States. The
lasting accomplishments of the Peace Corps continue to strengthen
partnerships with leaders and countries around the world. This year, we
also mourn the loss and pay tribute to the extraordinary life of Sargent
Shriver, the founding director of the Peace Corps. The impact of his
decades of public service will echo forever in countless places across
the globe that have been touched by the Peace Corps.
On this anniversary, we honor the men and women from across the country
who have carried forward our Nation's finest tradition of service, and
we rededicate ourselves to fulfilling the dream and continuing the work
of all those who aspire and yearn for peace.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 1, 2011, as the
50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps. I call upon all Americans to
observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities
that honor the Peace Corps and its volunteers, past and present, for
their many contributions to the cause of global peace and friendship.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day
of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
fifth.
BARACK OBAMA