THE Northern Marianas Sports Association and the Northern Marianas Humanities Council each received over $1,500 from former Peace Corps volunteers who attended a reunion on Saipan in April.
Jean Olopai, a local resident and former Peace Corps volunteer who organized activities for the reunion, was present at the Surf Rider Hotel on Friday, June 6 to deliver the checks to NMSA and the Humanities Council.
She said the reunion was organized by Terry Townsend, a Peace Corps volunteer who was on Saipan from 1975 to around 1977.
Olopai said the former volunteers’ trip to the island was made possible by fundraising and anonymous donations. The funds helped cover the reunion’s activities, with enough funds left over to make donations.
She said the former volunteers felt that NMASA and the Humanities Council should get the surplus funds. Olopai noted that the original Micro Olympics was organized with the help of Peace Corps volunteers. The funds donated to NMASA will help finance Team CNMI’s participation in the upcoming Pacific Mini Games in Palau.
Ray Tebuteb, NMASA president, accepted the funds on behalf of the sports group.
“Similarly to the Peace Corps, practically all of us are volunteers in what we do,” Tebuteb said. “There are really no words to express our sincere thank you for your [dedication] throughout your lives. It impacted…everybody that you have touched, one way or the other,” he said, referring to the former Peace Corps volunteers.
For his part, Humanities Council Executive Director Leo Pangelinan said the Peace Corps volunteers have been “invaluable” to the history of the CNMI for more than just the volunteer services they provided.
“When they left, they took with them photos [and] stories that we lost for some reason, because of typhoons, maybe because of termites, because of rust — all these different conditions in our environment that pose challenges for us to truly preserve and document our history,” Pangelinan said.
He said two former Peace Corps volunteers — Kurt Barnes and Kit Van Porter — worked on projects related to the Trust Territory era during which they served.
He added that the volunteers’ donation “couldn’t have come at a better time” in light of federal funding cuts that affect the Humanities Council.
He said that while the Peace Corps volunteers were on island, six of them were interviewed for the council’s Humanities Half-Hour radio show. The donation will fund the release of some of the show’s episodes.
Gin Smith, Humanities Council board chair, also expressed gratitude to the Peace Corps volunteers.
“All the Peace Corps members that have come to the Marianas are so integral and essential to our history and culture. We could not be the community we are today without all of you,” she said. “In today’s time, we’re at a crossroads right now. Generations are changing. It’s so important to preserve your history and the history you’ve been a part of.”
Ray Tebuteb accepts a check on behalf of the Northern Marianas Sports Association.
The Humanities Council’s Gin Smith, 4th from left, and Leo Pangelinan, 2nd from right, appreciated the monetary donation from the former Peace Corps volunteers.
