The Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Greater New York (RPCV-GNY) a.k.a. the Big Apple Corps is an active group, organizing 2 to 4 charitable activities and social occasions each month that provide opportunities for former volunteers with the U.S. Peace Corps - and all those interested in international affairs and community service - to share experiences, keep up with local events and work with people in all walks of life.

FAQs about the Yahoo! Group for RPCV-GNY

1. Why do you run the group this way? Yahoo is a pain to sign up with.

We have tried other systems in the past. When anyone sends an email out to more than 20 people, some systems filter it out as spam. Some don’t, we know, but we do not know which are even getting out of our ISP (Internet Service Provider), let alone into yours and past your filters. We like the ability to have a formatted version of our newsletter for certain graphics. But you may want to refer to the newsletter when you are not at the computer that received it, so we like to have an online version in the “Files” section. The message format does not allow graphics.  

Sending the newsletter out in a “message” version makes the information more quickly accessible for some people. When we send out a newsletter in “message” form another copy stays online in the “Messages” area, so we could skip the announcement of the Word file posting of the same information, but you will quickly learn they contain the same info and it may give you confidence that you do not have to keep the message version or read both.

2. Why do you restrict membership to those who are paid-up? Don't you only promote socializing events? 

We mix some charitable works in. For years Janet has led a team that answers letters to Santa from New York kids and families. The team shops and delivers wishes with about 0 of the Group’s funds annually. We sometimes have a team working at a school for “New York Cares Day” but some years it lacks a leader. We do end up with mostly social events, and those we know are usually low budget dining, drinking and city exploration, but that’s only because those are the ones that your fellow members agree to lead. We could use your new ideas, but also your leadership time.

3. Why is membership per year? What do I get?

We charge because that is the affiliate groups’ standard amount. If you have attended any of our events you know that people pay their own way. The main exception is the annual holiday party. (About 0 from the Group goes to food and drink, historically). As you can see in the posted financial report file, most of the money we raise is donated to charities selected from our members’ polls.