USU
alumna to serve as Crisis Corps volunteer in Thailand
for tsunami relief
DENVER, March 16, 2005 | Saundra Schimmelpfennig,
a Utah State University alumna, has agreed to serve
as a Crisis Corps volunteer in Thailand as part of the
Peace Corps' tsunami relief efforts.
Schimmelpfennig and seven other Crisis Corps volunteers
will depart Friday, making up the first Crisis Corps
team to be dispatched to South East Asia in response
to the tsunami disaster. A total of 60 Crisis Corps
volunteers are expected to assist in the recovery efforts
during the coming year, with 30 to serve in Thailand
and 30 in Sri Lanka.
Crisis Corps volunteers work on short-term projects,
using the skills they learned as Peace Corps volunteers
and in their post-service careers.
Schimmelpfennig, 35, will be one of three Resource
Development Volunteers who will work with local governments
in determining where the greatest needs of the country
and its citizens lie and to help identify resources
to help local communities. The Resource Development
Volunteers will also put together a local staff to ensure
that progress continues after the Crisis Corps team
departs.
Schimmelpfennig originally served as a Peace Corps
volunteer in Thailand from 1997 to 1999 as an environmental
education volunteer. Upon her return to the United States,
she worked as a Peace Corps recruiter for USU. She serves
as a naturalist for The Outdoor Science School in Santa
Barbara, Calif.
Schimmelpfennig received a bachelor's degree in environmental
studies from USU and a master's degree in education
through the Peace Corps Fellows Program at Northern
Arizona University in Flagstaff.
These initial five male and three female Crisis Corps
volunteers, all returned Peace Corps volunteers, are
leaving their homes, professional careers, friends and
family to again answer the call to service. They will
rely on their past Peace Corps experience, their Thai
language skills and cultural knowledge, as well as their
professional skills in their six-month assignment.
"The Peace Corps' efforts go beyond meeting
the immediate needs of the people of Thailand,"
said Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez. "The
Crisis Corps volunteers will help provide sustainability
and resilience to the relief and rebuilding efforts.
We know the emergency escalates as public interest wanes,
and our goal is to establish an infrastructure that
aids the people in rebuilding not just their homes,
but their lives, their outlooks, their businesses, and
their prosperity in the future."
In addition to the Resource Development Volunteers,
the other Crisis Corps volunteers will be working as
Construction and Database Development Volunteers. The
four Construction Volunteers will be responsible for
the rebuilding of permanent housing for tsunami survivors.
They will also assist in other construction projects,
as well as packaging donated goods for delivery to families.
The one Database Development Volunteer will develop
a database to track community damage assessments and
reconstruction costs of local residents and their property
in the disaster area. This database will also be useful
in the event of future disasters.
Nearly 600 returned Peace Corps volunteers have taken
the opportunity to use their invaluable skills and experiences
to address ongoing community needs in over 30 different
countries since Crisis
Corps' inception in 1996.
Since 1961, more than 178,000 volunteers have served
in the Peace Corps in 138 countries, working in such
diverse fields as education, health, HIV/AIDS education
and prevention, information technology, business development,
the environment, and agriculture. Peace Corps volunteers
must be U.S. citizens and at least 18. Peace Corps service
is a 27-month commitment.
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