BARPCV - Speaker's Bureau

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs): Be a speaker in a local school or organization!

Teachers, Community Members: Tap our Speaker’s Bureau database of RPCV speakers for your classroom or organization!

Talking about your experiences in a personal way sends a strong (and urgently needed) message into our schools and local organizations about our common humanity. We are currently scheduling speakers to visit classrooms and other groups in the Greater Boston area throughout the school year, including Peace Corps Week in the first week of March.

**Special request for volunteers who served in Muslim and/or Arab countries**
If you served among Muslims and/or Arabs, we encourage you to become a speaker. Boston students and community members need to know about your Peace Corps experiences, the culture you lived in, and the daily lives of people you lived and worked with. Meeting the Third Goal has never been more important!

How can I become a RPCV speaker or book a RPCV speaker for my classroom or organization?

If you would like to have a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer talk to your class or organization, please contact James Chen or at speakers@barpcv.org. He is currently scheduling speakers for the upcoming months. Please try to give as much notice as possible of your event (1+ months ideal).

RPCVs:

If you would like help connecting with a local school, you can:

1. contact James Chen or speakers@barpcv.org.

2. contact a school directly by doing the following:

a. Call a local school and ask to speak with the principal or vice-principal. Offer to visit one or more classes, and maybe even the PTO, to share your experiences in your host culture and dispel some of the misleading information about other countries being heard throughout the USA.
b. Explain that you want to focus on your experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and that you'd like to:

i. show artifacts, photos and/or slides
ii. describe the work you did, and where and how you lived
iii. describe the daily life of those you lived and worked with
iv. tell stories about your experiences.

Don’t forget!! Once you have made your speaking arrangements, make sure to let James know when and where you will be speaking. For every talk you give (not in Peace Corps Week), $50 goes to BARPCV to give out in Peace Corps Partnership grants for currently serving PCVs.