Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, ca. 1960s

The concept of volunteers serving abroad on grass-roots foreign aid projects originated in Congress in the late 1950s. In 1961 President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps by executive order and Congress recognized it legislatively later that year. The organization promotes peace by providing countries with trained workers to help address problems such as poverty and disease, and by creating closer ties between American volunteers and the people of the communities they serve.