The Peace Corps is marking its 65th anniversary in 2026, and the celebration comes at a time when the agency is facing threats to its budget.
Caroline Mackenzie is a former Peace Corps volunteer who worked in Ukraine. Since returning home, she has served as the president of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Hawaiʻi.
Mackenzie joined hundreds of others in Washington D.C. on July 20th to lobby for continued funding for the organization.
The visit was part of the Peace Corps’ annual conference. Mackenzie returned to Hawaiʻi and joined HPR to share where things stand with the federal budget.
“Peace Corps is 65 years young, and one of the reasons we're pushing for more funding is we'd like to be another 65 years,” she told HPR.
According to Mackenzie, the ambition is to sustain and grow the organization’s presence in the Pacific.
“The big push is to reopen some of the Pacific Island nations where we were,” she said.
“Talking with every one of our congressional representatives from Hawaiʻi, they are pushing to get Peace Corps back.”
This story aired on The Conversation on July 29, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
