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 Letter from the President
Hello SDPCA Members!
Happy February! This is African American History Month. Carter G. Woodson organized the “Negro History Week”, a celebration of African American history was launched in 1926 to promote the inclusion of black history in schools and to bring awareness to the discipline of African American studies. The first celebration was launched the week when both Fredrick Douglass’ and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays fell. President Gerald R. Ford expanded the annual week celebration into the entire month of February in 1976, 50 years later (https://africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/about/). The organization that Woodson helped found to promote black history, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), is hosting a virtual festival to celebrate the 95th annual black history theme “The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity”. There are eight free virtual community events that you may be interested in attending (https://asalh.org/festival/).
The SDPCA also has several virtual events in February and we hope you will join us. There is a cooking class with Cindy Kim to learn how to cook a vegan dish on February 6th. Colleen and Sharon will be hosting a Trivia night on February 18th. And, our true and faithful book club meets on Wednesday February 24th thanks to Karen Lindquist and Sharon.
On February 28th we kick off Peace Corps week with our very own Peace Corps week committee (board members Brittany, Tina S and Vic). Our fabulous committee will be hosting a Virtual Dinner party on Feb. 28th and then we'll cap off Peace Corps week with a virtual viewing of “A Towering Task” and a Q & A with the filmmaker!
Enjoy your February, SDPCA members.
Stay safe and healthy,
Ashley
Ashley Smallwood
Ecuador, 2004-07
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 Cooking and Dining Together!
Saturday, February 6 at 6pm
Zoom
RSVP: http://evite.me/Ah91xzkeHP
Join recent RPCV and San Diego native Cindy Kim, Macedonia 2018-20, as she leads us through the making of a fun and easy vegan diner. On the menu is a mushroom risotto that we can all enjoy together virtually. Ingredients are listed in the evite.
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 Trivia Night
Thursday, February 18 at 7pm
Zoom
RSPV: http://evite.me/zKBqy8n9cm
Join us for a fun filled evening of trivia where your knowledge of obscure facts will finally come in handy! And it is a great way to get to know your local RPCVs!
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 SDPCA Book Club
Wednesday, February 24 7pm
Zoom
RSVP: http://evite.me/6cpCfhG5dg
Join us for a thoughtful and engaging discussion of Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. The book is available at the library, on Kindle, at Amazon, or Thriftbooks.com. See all the books we’ve read at SDPCA.org/Book-Club.
Plan Ahead: the March Book Club selection is Kosher Chinese by Michael Levy. The discussion will be on Wednesday, March 31.
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PEACE CORPS WEEK is February 28 through March 6th!
Fun Fact: It has been observed the week of March 1st since 1972.
Other Peace Corps tidbit: the new acting Peace Corps Director is Carol Spahn. The Biden Administration is naming other top posts in the agency. Here is an overview.
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 Virtual Dinner Party
Sunday, February 28 at 6pm
Zoom
RSVP: http://evite.me/aQy9ZWCaRE
Let's kick off Peace Corps Week together by sharing a virtual dinner of our favorite international dishes! Join us on Sunday, February 28th at 6pm for food, conversation, and to celebrate the Peace Corps. Prepare your favorite International dish or support your favorite local, ethnic restaurant by ordering take out and join our virtual get together. We'll have a recipe swap so have your recipes or a recipe of your dish ready. Let's raise a glass, eat some delicious food, and start Peace Corps week off with a bang!
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Join us in celebrating Peace Corps Week by participating in a Facebook photo share!
 Each day, starting February 28th through March 6th, we will be focusing on a different theme and invite you to share pictures from your Peace Corps service. Throughout the week we will be asking you to share photos that represent your country, projects, host family and friends, toilet stories, local transportation, favorite food dish, and your favorite memories. Although we can't celebrate this year in person, we can still do what we do best and swap Peace Corps stories and experiences with each other! So, time to dig out all those pictures and get ready for Peace Corps Week 2021! Photo from Tina Silva.
Like or follow us on Facebook.com/SDPCA to get notifications.
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 A Towering Task – in two parts:
March 5 – 7th - View the film online (a link will be sent to those who RSVP)
RSVP: http://evite.me/n9yK8YJmsP
Saturday, March 6 at 6:30pm - Zoom discussion with the film director
RSVP: http://evite.me/6mrEZmj2Vn
Finish off Peace Corps week by joining us for A Towering Task, a documentary film that examines the rich history of the Peace Corps and the challenges that lie ahead in the 21st century. If you saw it last year at the SDPCA screening it is worth seeing again!
Everyone will have a chance to view the movie on their own from 4pm Friday March 5th to 4pm Sunday March 7th. Then we will come together to discuss the movie. We are proud to announce that we will have Alana DeJospehon join us on Saturday March 6th at 6:30pm. Alana is the producer and director of the film as well as a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. Please come with questions for Alana, about the film and the future of Peace Corps.
We can't wait to enjoy this film and discussion with you!
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Traditionally, the National Peace Corps Association has coordinated a National Day of Action on Capitol Hill in March during Peace Corps week to advocate for Peace Corps. Since we can’t attend in-person meetings this year, we will be advocating virtually!
We are going to try to set up a meeting in March or April to introduce our new Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (Dist. 53) to the SDPCA. We want to be sure that Peace Corps is on her agenda! If you are interested in joining this virtual meeting, please email Danielle at advocacy@sdpca.org. The date and time TBD.
Also, as part of our Peace Corps Week festivities here in San Diego, we will be incorporating a way for you to advocate during our scheduled virtual events. Hope to see you there!
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 SDPCA Membership Dues
The annual SDPCA membership renewal date is January 1. Membership is $20 per family and newly COSed RPCVs (in the past year) are free. The membership fee helps cover our modest operating costs and provides funds for our events.
There are two ways to renew:
1. Go to SDPCA.org/membership to renew on-line using our secure PayPal payment system. If you have issues with the payment system, send an email to Sharon at newseditor@SDPCA.org and she'll send you an invoice.
2. Mail a check for $20 to SDPCA PO Box 16362, San Diego, CA 92176. Please include a note with your country of service, dates served, and any updated contact information (email, phone, address).
Questions? Contact Tina Hunter Burnam at membershipinfo@SDPCA.org.
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