Summer Picnic

Join RPCVs, family, and friends for our Annual SEAPAX Potluck Picnic on Saturday August 21! We will gather at Magnuson Park Shelter #2 (6505 NE 65th St, Seattle, WA 98115) from 3-6 pm (please note, prior announcements had an earlier start time of 1 pm).

Please bring food to share (side dishes encouraged) and SEAPAX will provide the main course: hamburgers, veggie burgers, and hot dogs with buns and condiments. We will also provide a limited supply of water and refreshments.

Following Seattle Parks and Recreation and CDC recommendations, we ask that all unvaccinated persons wear a mask when in groups and where social distancing (> 6 feet) is not possible. Vaccinated individuals who feel safer and more comfortable wearing a mask in outdoor groups are more than welcome to do so.

RSVP here >>

Happy Hour

SEAPAX Happy Hour is back! We are hosting our first happy hour since the pandemic on Wednesday, August 18 from 4:30-7:30 pm at Art Marble 21 in South Lake Union (731 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109). Drop by to share some food and drinks and catch up on lost time. See you there!

Email Garrett at gmorkill@gmail.com with any questions.

SEAPAX Annual Board Elections

Our annual Board elections are right around the corner, and we are currently looking for candidates who would like to take on leadership roles. All SEAPAX members are eligible to run.

Voting begins on September 6 and runs through the end of the month for the following 2022 Board positions:

• President
• Vice President
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Director-At-Large-Service (up to three)
• Director-At-Large-Events (up to three)

Of note, these positions are all one-year terms, starting January 1, 2022 and ending December 31, 2022. Find a more detailed description of these positions on our website. 

If you are interested in any of these elected positions or would like to nominate someone, please submit the following information to info@seapax.org by August 31: nominee’s name, country and years of Peace Corps service, position of interest, and brief biography of nominee (find examples of biographies here).

Email us to learn more about any of these positions.

Open Non-Elected Board Positions

Would you like to get more involved with SEAPAX and our local RPCV community?

There is no better way to do so than to serve on our Board. We are looking to fill the following non-elected Board position immediately:

Regular Events Chair

• Leads an events committee, which is responsible for the planning and execution of regularly occurring events (i.e. happy hours, eats-out, book club, etc.)
• Looking for a dependable individual who enjoys planning and participating in social events
• 1-year commitment (minimum)

If you are interested and/or would like to learn more, please email us.

Member Spotlight - Presenting the Unprecedented

One could be forgiven for having “unprecedented” fatigue. We are weary to the bone from the unrelenting record-smashing, at times calamitous, events spanning global health, racial justice, climate change, politics, and, yes, even the Olympics. So numerous were the 'seismic events' in 2020 that the OED couldn’t settle on a single Word of the Year, instead recognizing a slate of "Words of an Unprecedented Year."  But on March 15, 2020, when then-Director Jody Olsen confirmed that “every Peace Corps volunteer on the planet” would be brought home, it was, indeed, a global evacuation unprecedented in the history of the agency.

Two hundred forty-eight of the returning volunteers listed Washington as their home of record, and you probably know some of them. This month’s spotlight introduces four such SEAPAX members that I’ve been fortunate to meet through NPCA’s Emergency Response Network and our work as COVID-19 contact tracers and public information resource coordinators for Public Health-Seattle & King County. In our next two spotlights, Paige Beiler (Morocco), Hillary Holman (Albania), Jerome Siangco (China), and Kelsie Wring (Uganda) will share personal recollections of leaving their posts and tell us what they are doing now.

Read the full spotlight >>

Advocacy

Throughout August and into September, the Advocacy Coordinators will schedule meetings with members of our WA delegation. The purpose of these meetings is to familiarize our US Representatives and Senators with pending Peace Corps legislation including a budget request for an additional $20M for the next fiscal year, the first increase in more than five years! And, we need your help. The Advocacy Coordinators schedule the meetings, prep the RPCVs on the agenda items, and follow-up with the legislator's staff after the meeting. By participating you'll get to share a bit of your Peace Corps experience AND perform your civic duty. Email Beth at bethahlstrom@hotmail.com for more information. We guarantee that this will be one of the most rewarding things you do this summer!

Support Local Refugees

The Peace Corps Community for Refugees (PCC4R) has invited SEAPAX to partner with the regional affiliate of the Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service, Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW). You will have seen this message in prevIous issues of the SEAPAX newsletter. 

As a service priority for SEAPAX in the greater Seattle area, there are many ways you can support refugees and immigrants:

One way is through LCSNW’s program, such as sponsoring a family, teaching English, or driving people to appointments. See the full list of opportunities here. LCSNW is also currently looking for shorter term possibilities for volunteer support. 

If you are interested in volunteering with LCSNW, please contact Emma at 253-617-4385 or eloest@lcsnw.org and say you are a SEAPAX member. Thank you to those of you who have already made contact.

Another way is to complete the general interest questionnaire, which will go to the SEAPAX Service committee. 

Fill out the questionnaire >>

Calendar Sales

2022 RPCV International Calendars are here!

These calendars keep us connected to the countries and people with whom we served, support our SEAPAX Small Grants program, and work towards the Third Goal: bringing the world back home.

Follow the diretions below to get $1 off the regular price of $15, and 40% of the proceeds support our SEAPAX Small Grants program!

This year, we are partnering with the RPCVs of Wisconsin-Madison, who created this beautiful calendar, to provide contactless delivery. To order:

1. Go to rpcvcalendar.org

2. Fill out the form to order your calendar(s).

3. Use our code: PC4SEAPAX

4. Calendars will ship to your address of choice!

SEAPAX Merchandise

Check out our newly available SEAPAX merchandise - t-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee mugs, baby clothes, and more!

75% of all proceeds go toward our grants program which supports community-based projects in both Washington State and countries around the world.

Get your merch »

Did you miss signing up for the Regional RPCV Campout?

The Portland Peace Corps Association is hosting a regional 'overflow' campout!

Thursday, August 12 - Sunday, August 15

Lewis and Clark Trail State Park
36149 Hwy. 12, Dayton, WA 99328
Group Site 2

$16/adult and $5/child aged 5-17

Details and registration >>

Join Glenn Blumhorst, NPCA President and CEO, for a virtual conversation about the future of the NPCA.

Wednesday, August 4
4-5 pm

Tickets are $5.

Register >>