Encore Opportunity Awards

At the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department in Georgia experienced employees are valued as mentors to younger workers.

2009 Employer Awards Announced!

Civic Ventures and the MetLife Foundation have selected eight winners of the 2009 Encore Opportunity Awards: organizations that are engaging people over 50 in creative ways to tackle social challenges.

Spread across the country, they are protecting public safety, building low-income housing, teaching job skills, preserving the environment and filling other vital needs.

Learn their top 10 insights and practical strategies.

Download a PDF about the 2009 Encore Opportunity Award winners.

Read the press release.

2009 Encore Opportunity Award Winners

Saving Native Language

Posted 11/16/2009 - 11:55am

Alliance of Early Childhood Professionals
Minneapolis, Minnesota

You can learn the history, the folklore, the music, the dance. But you may never truly understand a culture – a people – without knowing the language.

That feeling drives Lillian Rice in her work, teaching children a Native American language slipping into extinction.

The Alliance of Early Childhood Professionals gives workers who are old enough and wise enough to be considered “elders” in native communities an opportunity to get paid to do what only they can: save a language.

by: Michele Melendez | Read more >>

Creating Meaningful Connections

Posted 11/16/2009 - 11:56am

Civitan Foundation Inc.
Phoenix, Arizona

Without hesitation, David Zowin, a 43-year-old with a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome, expresses his feelings for Civitan Foundation employee Jon Cochran, 73.

“I was born and raised to have respect for my elders,” says Zowin, whose parents are deceased. “Jon is more than just an elder. I feel he is a dad to me.”

Civitan purposefully develops those kinds of relationships by recruiting people over 50 as caregivers for individuals with developmental disabilities. In fact, the organization, which offers respite care through a summer camp and year-round social and learning activities, developed its Caring Connections program to attract workers over 50.

by: Michele Melendez | Read more >>

Stepping In to Help Nonprofits

Posted 11/16/2009 - 11:57am

Executive Service Corps of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Many nonprofits across the country are struggling with a problem that may be avoidable: instability after an executive director leaves.

Executive Service Corps of Chicago, or ESC, helps organizations during that critical time “between directors” by creating a pool of experienced former directors willing to take short-term assignments benefiting nonprofits.

The need for a service to help nonprofits find interim directors was clear, says Marcia Lipetz, president and CEO of ESC, a nonprofit consulting organization. A 2006 report by The Bridgespan Group predicts that nonprofit organizations will need 640,000 senior managers, including executive directors, by 2016.

by: Michele Melendez | Read more >>

Enhancing Public Safety

Posted 11/16/2009 - 11:59am

Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department
Lawrenceville, Georgia

In the community and the workplace, 50-plus employees of the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department are teachers and confidants.

Even inmates see their value.

“Most inmates are under 30 and recognize that a person 50-plus has a lot of life experience and has been exposed to a lot of life’s problems,” says Chief Deputy Mike Boyd. “That same inmate will not seek out that type of advice and counseling from a much younger deputy.”

by: Michele Melendez | Read more >>

Building More Than Homes

Posted 11/16/2009 - 12:00pm

Habitat for Humanity of Lake-Sumter Florida Inc.
Eustis, Florida

In its mission to build homes for the poor, Habitat for Humanity of Lake-Sumter Florida Inc. takes full advantage of the age makeup of its community.

Many retirees who settle in central Florida have time and skills to contribute, says the nonprofit’s CEO, Jim Fischer. He knows well the appeal of working during the traditional retirement years.

In 2000 at age 59, Fischer retired after three decades as CEO for a youth services nonprofit in Minnesota. “That magic carrot out there – early retirement – didn’t fit for me,” he says. “I really like to work. I really like to contribute.”

by: Michele Melendez | Read more >>

Retaining and Recruiting Talent

Posted 11/16/2009 - 12:01pm

National Center for Appropriate Technology
Butte, Montana

When the National Center for Appropriate Technology needs a position filled, it often calls on people who already know the job: former employees.

Employees who leave the organization are placed on adjunct status, meaning they can return when they want – assuming a job is available – without having to repeat the hiring process, including the paperwork and training.

The National Center for Appropriate Technology, or NCAT, has a clear mission: to help people use environmentally sound methods – or “appropriate technologies” – to grow crops, raise animals and use less energy. With locations in Montana, California, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Louisiana, it has traditionally maintained an age-diverse workforce.

by: Michele Melendez | Read more >>

Hammering Skills Home

Posted 11/16/2009 - 12:01pm

Orleans Technical Institute, a Program of JEVS Human Services
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

What started 35 years ago as a school offering clerical courses to women returning to the workforce has become a place where students of all ages facing a host of disadvantages can work toward a career in the building trades.

Individuals who have grown up poor, are barely literate, have been in prison or have abused drugs are among those benefiting from the knowledge of experienced boomers and older instructors over 50, who make up most of the teaching staff at the nonprofit Orleans Technical Institute. And more than half of the roughly 120 employees schoolwide, including support staff and job placement counselors, are 50-plus.

by: Michele Melendez | Read more >>

Making Vital Repairs

Posted 11/16/2009 - 11:53am

Umbrella of the Capital District
Schenectady, New York

At 90, Leonard and Naomi Tucker go to the theater. They’re active with community groups. They even swing dance. But they know their limitations.

“As we were getting older and living in our own house, it was getting difficult doing all the maintenance,” Naomi Tucker says.

The Tuckers found help through Umbrella of the Capital District, which matched them with Bill Gosier – himself a retiree – to perform the odd jobs they couldn’t. By recruiting experienced retirees, the nonprofit creates a pathway to encore work that helps older adults and people with disabilities live independently.

by: Michele Melendez | Read more >>