Endowment Fund at the University of Missouri, Columbia – India 37
In September 1966, 100+ young idealistic men (mostly) descended on the campus of the University of Missouri, Columbia to begin three months of intense Peace Corps training for a food production mission to India. We came from all over the US and were largely from a liberal arts\general education background. We had a lot to learn, about agriculture, about the Indian (Bengali) culture, and the Bengali language. We were the 37th group created by Peace Corps for India service. In December when we completed university training, we loaded a chartered Air India flight from NYC’s Kennedy International for the trip to New Delhi, India, followed by a train to Calcutta (as it was known) to finish our in-country training at the Ranaghat Rice Farm north of the city. Just after Christmas, 1966 we were parceled out to various busses which took us, mostly in groups of 2, to our pre-chosen West Bengal village to begin our actual Peace Corps work. While some volunteers extended their time, after our two years volunteer service most returned home. In September 2015 many of us met together again in Columbia to renew our friendships and muse about the effect that Peace Corps had on our lives. In early 2017 some of us met again in Kolikata and also visited our villages where we walked once familiar streets and visited once-familiar fields and markets. A more detailed account of our experience can be found on our website: www.india37peacecorps.org.
It is the wish of the volunteers of Peace Corps group India 37 to establish an endowment fund at the University of Missouri (Columbia) for the purpose of providing training and project funds to individuals studying agriculture (food production) in West Bengal, India. With the goal of being inclusive to our intent, we extend funding to include projects and study in the name of community development and education in any developing nation.
We base our action on the respect we have for the goals of the United States Peace Corps, the extraordinary training we received at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and the friendship and comradery we experienced with the people of West Bengal, India during our mission in India. International understanding and mutual appreciation should not suffer in the face of financial want. We believe that by providing such funds we can in some small way, monetize our objective.
It is for this purpose and to these ends that an endowment in our name, India 37, is established.
Conditions of the endowment
Our goal is to fund a core endowment of $25,000. We have five years to achieve this goal. Once funded the proceeds from this endowment will provide an annual sum of (about) $1,000 to be awarded by the University to deserving students and projects which reflect our intent. If, and as our core endowment grows, through donations and such, so will the award grow. This award will last in perpetuity.