Mother, daughter share Peace Corps connection to the Dominican Republic
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Feb. 18, 2021
There are many families with a tradition of Peace Corps service. It’s not hard to find generations of mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, and siblings who have all volunteered.
It's rare, though, to connect with a mother and daughter who served on the same island nearly 30 years apart. One held onto the idea of Peace Corps service for decades, and the other wasn’t sure it was part of her plan. In the end, both served and both have unique experiences to share.
Ella Cheri Bennett, a 2020 Franklin H. Williams Award recipient, was born and raised in tiny Lilesville, North Carolina, a town of 537 about halfway between Charlotte and Fayetteville. Despite the small-town surroundings, Cheri, as she’s known by her Peace Corps family, had big dreams of seeing the world. When she saw a Peace Corps ad on TV as a teenager, she knew it was her route to doing just that. She ended up volunteering in the Dominican Republic from 1991 to 1993. Years later, her daughter, Angelena, followed a different path to Peace Corps service.