[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 42 (Thursday, March 3, 2011)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 11933-11934]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5031]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 42 / Thursday, March 3, 2011 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 11933]]


                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 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.

[[Page 11934]]

                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.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2011-5031
Filed 3-2-11; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3195-W1-P