In recognition of the International Visitor Leadership Program’s (IVLP) 70th anniversary and the Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary, Meridian planned The Spirit of Volunteerism - Honoring 50 Years of the Peace Corps from September 24 to October 15, 2011. Government officials, NGO leaders, civic and community activists, entrepreneurs and educators from around the world were selected to participate in this program as a result of their association with the Peace Corps. While in the U.S., the visitors learned about volunteerism, civic responsibility, and the concept of social entrepreneurship. While in Washington, D.C. the group took part in workshops, panel discussions, met Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams, and planted 56 trees in Oxon Run Park in Anacostia. After wrapping up their Washington program, the participants split into smaller travel groups to 12 different cities where the focus was on corporate social responsibility, and the reasons people are motivated to volunteer. In the spirit of the program, the visitors engaged in numerous volunteer activities during the second week helping the Pittsburgh-based Global Links pack medical supplies for people around the world, participating in a fundraiser by cooking Brunswick Stew with local volunteers at the Tabernacle United Methodist Church in Greensboro, spending time at the Rochester zoo with children from Mary’s Place, a home for refugee youths, and cleaning up the beaches of Pensacola with Project GreenShores.