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NEW YORK –Maine ranks No. 9 among states with the highest number of Peace Corps volunteers per capita, with four volunteers per 100,000 residents, the organizatoin announced Dec. 14.
There are 53 volunteers from the Pine Tree State serving worldwide, and 1,933 Mainers have served in the Peace Corps since the agency’s founding in 1961. The top state is Washington, D.C., with 8.8 volunteers per capita (the Peace Corps counted the district as a state for purposes of the survey).
Maine is third in New England behind Vermont (second at 6.7 per capita) and Rhode Island (fifth at 4.3).
“Peace Corps volunteers come from all corners of our nation to create grassroots level change in our world,” said Peace Corps Chief Executive Officer Sheila Crowley in a news release. “Volunteers share their hometown values and perspectives with the host communities they serve, an intercultural exchange that leaves a legacy of peace and friendship. We are deeply grateful to the extraordinary communities in the U.S. which produce citizens with such a strong sense of purpose.”
This is the fourth consecutive year Maine has appeared in the top 10 volunteer-producing states per capita. Earlier this year, Bowdoin College ranked No. 13 among small schools on the agency’s Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities list. Maine volunteers are among the more than 230,000 Americans who have served around the world in areas such as agriculture, community economic development, education, environment, health and youth in development volunteers since 1961.
Kay Davis of Bangor grew up and raised her own family in Maine, where five of her children still live. She is now serving as a health volunteer in Guatemala.
“The people talk to me as a mother, grandmother, and widow. I work in Maternal Child Health. The midwives listen to me because I am a peer who understands what they do. The mothers trust that I know their challenges of breastfeeding, parenting, and open up about their challenges,” Davis said.
The Peace Corps is unique among service organizations because our volunteers live and work at the community level, the organization said. Service in the Peace Corps is a life-defining, hands-on leadership experience that offers volunteers the opportunity to travel to the farthest corners of the world and make a lasting difference in the lives of others. Applicants can apply to specific programs by visiting the Peace Corps website and connecting with a recruiter.
The top 10 states per capita are: 1 — District of Columbia, 8.8; 2 — Vermont, 6.7; 3 – Montana, 4.9; 4. — Oregon, 4.3; 5 — Rhode Island, 4.3; 6 — Virginia, 4.2; 7– Maryland, 4.1; 8 — Washington, 4.1; 9 — Maine, 4.0; 10 — Colorado and Minnesota, 3.9.
