Peace Corps recruiter makes play for HBCUs, barbershops

NORFOLK, Va. – A Peace Corps recruiter is making a play for a more diverse volunteer force by targeting historically black colleges and universities — and barbershops.

The Daily Press reports that diversity recruiter Dwayne Matthews is travelling to 10 such higher-education institutions and barbershops near their campuses this month, during homecoming season. He says he wants to come to people “in spaces and communities where they feel the most comfortable.”

He spent his two years in the Peace Corps working as community health adviser in Malawi. He says he was the first African-American many villagers had met.

Last fiscal year, about 31 per cent of volunteers identified themselves as a member of a racial or ethnic minority. Matthews says the creativity the agency has allowed him shows they “genuinely want to make strides.”

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Information from: Daily Press, http://www.dailypress.com/