RSVP Christie Musa H: 908.475.8269/ C: 908.283.9990
christie.musa@gmail.com

RPCV-NJ has reserved tables for 16 guests at KEI KABOB, the only Persian restaurant in Montclair,NJ- SATURDAY MAY 18th at 5:00 pm.  This is a cozy place which is very busy on Saturday nights so RESERVATIONS ARE A MUST.  To check out the menu, get directions, and learn a little more about the owner of the restaurant, CLICK ON-    www.keikabob.com
KEI KABOB PERSIAN RESTAURANT  401 BLOOMFIELD AVE., MONTCLAIR, NJ
To reserve any of the available 14 spaces, please contact:
Geraldine Gillio- geraldinegillio@yahoo.com.
RSVP  to Gerry BY  MAY 10TH!

RPCV-NJ is helping out around New Jersey for NJ CARES day on May 4.  We’ll be at three of the projects listed at: http://www.jerseycaresday.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1056297

Hillsborough (Somerset County)

Union County

Morristown Public Park

Because we have several people attending the event in their area, we are not registered as one group. However, if you can attend, please register as an individual and let us know (email Lisa at outreach@rpcv-nj.org) so we can meet you there!

As the newly elected President of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of New Jersey (RPCV-NJ), I wanted to introduce myself and the 2013/2014 Board. (Our contact information is at the end of this note.)

I also wanted to tell you about the Annual Meeting which we held on March 9, with a high turnout of RPCVs ranging from those who just completed their service to “veterans” who served in the early 1960’s.  The room was filled with energy, enthusiasm and ideas as we discussed our ambitious plans for 2013.

The 2013/2014 Board

First I would like to thank the 2012/1013 Board for all their efforts.  They greatly expanded RPCV-NJ’s initiatives in many areas such as Outreach, Fundraising, Member Database Management, and Advocacy.  The new Board plans to build on this momentum!

The 2013/2014 Board has a great mix of experience and new blood:

• Gerry Gillio (Secretary) and Edie Ben-Israel (Treasurer) have been the backbone of the RPCV-NJ Board for many years and bring a lot of history and dedication to their roles.
• Doug Donovan (outgoing President and current committee chair for Fundraising & Member Database) spearheaded last year’s expanded initiatives and increased communication with our membership.
• Christie Musa (committee chair for Social Events) joined the Board last year after several years of developing a RPCV social network in the Skylands region in the NW part of the state.
• I, Barbara Kelly (current President and liaison with the National Peace Corps Association), also joined the Board last year as the committee chair for Advocacy.
• Lisa Nicolaison, (committee chair for Outreach and Volunteer Activities) was elected to the Board at this meeting.  She has been actively volunteering over the past year to coordinate our Outreach efforts (e.g. talks to schools/Girl Scouts) and to reach out to younger, newly returned volunteers.

Rowland Bennett (outgoing Secretary and long time Board member) has chosen to no longer be on the Board but will remain active as the committee chair for Advocacy.  And Wendy Sue Williams will continue her valuable role maintaining our RPCV-NJ website and Facebook page.

2013 Plans

Our objective as a Board is to make RPCV-NJ relevant and valuable to you and to our New Jersey communities, in the spirit of Peace Corps’ third goal.

Here are highlights of our 2013 plans – but we want to hear from you, as our members, about what would be relevant to you and how you would like to participate.  Please contact me or any of the Committee Chairs with any questions/ideas (and hopefully your willingness to volunteer – we can tailor work to the time you have available!)  I’ve included contact information at the end of this note.

• Social Events/Ethnic Dining:  This was the highest priority of RPCVs who attended the Annual Meeting.  We plan to have regular ethnic dinners and social events in “hub centers” across the state so everyone will be able to attend functions that are reasonably close to home.  This is a chance to connect with fellow RPCV’s (who else can understand our shared service experiences as well?).  We will make every effort to have a Board member attend each event in order to update you on what is happening both at the state and national level.  If you can help in organizing a single dinner/social event near you, contact Christie Musa (see below).  She will handle publicity to our membership.
• Outreach/Volunteer Activities:  Each year we get multiple requests from schools/Girl Scout troops for speakers. Peace Corps has a range of materials to help you with your presentations, and it is lots of fun.  We also want to identify and participate in local volunteer activities that support Peace Corps values.  Please respond to Lisa Nicolaison’s requests for speakers/volunteers and suggest volunteer opportunities to her.
• Advocacy:  Our legislators in Washington do respond to constituent requests!  Rowland Bennett will keep our membership alerted to current Peace Corps Advocacy priorities.  Please contact your legislators when Rowland asks and let him know that you have, so we can track our advocacy efforts!   There is broad bipartisan support for Peace Corps in Congress, but our legislators need to be told how to make that support concrete!
• Newsletter/Communications:  We want to move to more timely, more cost efficient communication with all the New Jersey RPCV’s, and our start will be an E-Newsletter as well as more focused emails (based on our improved Member Data Base).  Please contact Edie Ben-Israel if you would be willing help launch the E-Newsletter.  Also be sure to keep us informed of your email address!
• Fundraising:  Remember that your financial support is essential to our efforts and respond as generously as you can when you receive our fundraising communications.  Your contributions cover far more than our organization’s operating expenses – in 2012 over 40% of your donations went to grants that RPCV-NJ gave to Peace Corps projects of current Peace Corps volunteers from NJ and to New Jersey non-profits with values consistent with Peace Corps.

As Peace Corps volunteers we know that we can make a difference, and with your help the RPCV-NJ organization intends to continue doing that – while having fun interacting with fellow RPCVs!

Contact information:

• Barbara Kelly (President):   president@rpcv-nj.org
• Gerry Gillio (Secretary): geraldinegillio@yahoo.com
• Edie Ben Israel (Treasurer & E-Newsletter): enewsletter@rpcv-nj.org
• Doug Donovan (Fundraising & Member Data Base): info@rpcv-nj.org or ddonovan377@gmail.com;
• Christie Musa (Social Events):  christie.musa@gmail.com
• Lisa Nicolaison (Outreach & Volunteer Activities): outreach@rpcv-nj.org
• Rowland Bennett (Advocacy):   advocacy@rpcv-nj.org

Hey – it was great to see over two dozen people at the RPCV-NJ annual meeting on Saturday, March 10 in Cranford!  A new board was elected, and as usual when RPCVs get together, we had lunch!  Keep a look out in your mailbox for an updated list of events around New Jersey!

]]> http://rpcvnj.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/annual-meeting-save-the-date/feed/ 0 annualmeeting2013 rpcvnj annualmeeting2013_3 annualmeeting2013_2 http://rpcvnj.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/reach-out/ http://rpcvnj.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/reach-out/#comments Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:48:17 +0000 rpcvnj http://rpcvnj.wordpress.com/?p=199 Continue reading →]]> Dear RPCVs of New Jersey,

It’s that time again to REACH OUT! to our community of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers in New Jersey for your important and necessary support!

RPCV-NJ relies on your support in order to fund current projects of NJ Peace Corps volunteers; provide support to local organizations with missions consistent with RPCV-NJ’s mission; conduct seminars and presentations to educate New Jerseyans and elected representatives about the importance that Peace Corps has for New Jersey and for our nation; organize and host gatherings throughout the state that bring together RPCV’s from ALL decades for networking, story-telling and sharing of experiences.

Most of our funding goes to current NJ volunteers who have registered their projects via the Peace Corps’ Peace Corps Partnership program. There is always more demand than we are able to satisfy; however, we hope to be able to provide more funding this year than in the past – but this depends on YOU! (Look what we’ve funded in the past)

You can continue to make the world a better place by making a donation to RPCV-NJ – which will fund an education or health development project, or some other worthy project of a current NJ volunteer.

Look in your mail for your newsletter and more information!

Have a happy 2013!

Email  advocacy@rpcv-nj.org to receive more information on the new date and location.