Help Us Secure Fort Collins' Special Place in International History with A Very Special Tribute

The Peace Corps Experience: Our Lives – Your World will be a museum dedicated to the contributions made by Peace Corps volunteers from our nation.

It will be a place for RPCVs to share their stories. And, a place for each of us to learn more about our world and its people.

A Legacy of Peace for Future Generations

Just imagine if you had an idea that had the potential to take the world by storm, help underdeveloped nations, and inspire the participation and devotion of thousands of Americans.

In 1960, three Colorado State University researchers answered a request for a proposal from aspiring Presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey only months prior to the Democratic National Convention. They were asked to envision and design a model that could be used to mobilize our nation’s youth in serving less developed nations as ambassadors and educators.

That idea formed the basis for what the world now recognizes to be the Peace Corps as presented by President John F. Kennedy and authorized by Congress in 1961 – 47 years ago.

Annually, nearly 10,000 Americans of all ages enter Peace Corps volunteer service to contribute to world peace, development, and understanding, serving in nearly 70 nations. The number of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) from 140 nations served since its inception has reached 187,000 individuals. Over 7,000 of these live in Colorado and over 700 in Northern Colorado,

In late 2007, an ad hoc committee of Fort Collins-based RPCVs resolved to build a museum to commemorate our unique contribution to the world – a museum to offer a rare look at the commitment and experience of the Peace Corps volunteer and to help fulfill the RPCV promise to share experiences upon their return home to help educate communities about other nations in a personal, more meaningful way.

The Peace Corps Experience: Our Lives – Your World will be a museum to take its place among other cultural experiences in Fort Collins, including: The Fort Collins Museum, The Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, Museo de la Tres Colonias, Colorado State University’s new art gallery/museum, The Center for Fine Art Photography, and many others. It will enhance Fort Collins’ stature as a unique cultural destination in Colorado and in the Western United States.

The Peace Corps Museum is currently envisioned as a three story, 50,000 sq. ft. edifice, which will incorporate major galleries for Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Oceania (Pacific), in addition to a small theater/lecture hall, two classrooms, offices, and storage.

Located in Old Town Fort Collins, in partnership with the City of Fort Collins, it is estimated the Museum will cost nearly $10 million.

Donations from RPCVs, corporations, local and regional businesses and individuals will be solicited. Exhibit donations will be sought from RPCVs and other international sources. The fund-raising campaign kicks-off in August 2008 during the Peace Corps and Friends Celebration and Reunion in Fort Collins.

The Peace Corps Museum will be open to the public and available for meetings, receptions, educational field trips, and much more.

Our goal is to open the Museum on March 1, 2011, the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Peace Corps.

The creation of a Peace Corps Museum in Fort Collins is a major undertaking. Its existence and mission will serve as a living tribute to all Peace Corps volunteers and their families, and to those who worked so diligently in creating The United States Peace Corps as an outreach effort to the betterment of the whole world.

Fort Collins is honored and proud to provide a home for this living memorial.

Please join us in making this dream come true with your tax-deductible gift.

How You Can Help

To make your tax-deductible gift to The Peace Corps Experience: Our Lives – Your World:

Address your check to:
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTHERN COLORADO
Please enter: PEACE CORPS EXPERIENCE MUSEUM FUND in the memo line to ensure accurate handling.

Mail to:
Community Foundation of Northern Colorado
4745 Wheaton Drive Suite 100 Fort Collins, CO 80525
telephone: 970.224.3462 – fax: 970.488.1990

Or, contribute online at:
CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW
Please enter PEACE CORPS MUSEUM in comment field.

If you would like to host a presentation for your friends, club, membership organization or private group OR if you are an RPCV who would like to contribute artifacts from your Peace Corps experience to the Museum, please contact us at: 970.419.8240 or Click here to schedule a presentation or to contribute artifacts to the Museum.