No subject

> Most people think of the Peace Corps as an

> organization that sends 

> young people to far-flung nations for stints of

> manual labor. That 

> image is shifting, however, and the corps reports an

> increase in 

> volunteers over 50.

> 

> As the Peace Corps adds more slots involving

> activities such as 

> business advising and teaching with computers, the

> work has become less 

> physically demanding. As a result, 10 percent of the

> current recruits 

> are over 50, and 28 percent are at least 30 years

> old. That's a 

> contrast with the 1960s, when 1 percent of recruits

> were over 50, and 5 

> percent were at least 30.

> 

> "We want the Peace Corps to show the face of

> America," says Lauren 

> Mitchell, recruitment coordinator at the agency's

> Denver office, 

> speaking to The Associated Press. "Older people make

> fantastic 

> volunteers - they bring a lot of expertise,

> maturity, and life 

> experience."

> 

> Like other applicants, older volunteers must pass a

> medical 

> examination, and are only slightly more likely than

> younger colleagues 

> to cut short their tours for health reasons.

> 

> The most visible senior to participate was Lillian

> Carter, mother of 

> former President Jimmy Carter, who joined the corps

> in 1966 when she 

> was 68.

> 

> "In many countries, being an older person can have

> advantages," says 

> Danilo Minnick, a recruiter in New York. "The people

> respect age."

> 

> (c) Copyright 2001 The Christian Science Monitor. 

> All rights reserved. 

> 

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> 



=====
Brian Farenell
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer -- Guinea (Beindou) '95-97
My website: http://www.angelfire.com/ak/SaaBrian 
Mon site web: http://www.angelfire.com/ak/SaaBrian/indexfrn.html
Friends of Guinea: http://maxwell.ucsc.edu/~stephanie
North American Green Parties: http://www.greens.org/na.html

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