Tough new economic realities have transformed career reinvention from a virtue into a necessity for millions of older Americans who aren't ready to retire or simply can't afford to quit working. Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Civic Ventures, talks about how this phenomenon may – for some – lead to more personally meaningful work.
Retirement is no longer viewed as a brief period of rest at the end of life. It has become an integral element of the American dream, says Civic Ventures founder and CEO Marc Freedman, who has studied the cultural history of retirement. “People scrimped and saved and deferred gratification to get to it as soon as possible – not even 65 or 62, but in your 50s,” Freedman says. (This piece also appeared in The Fiscal Times.)
Oprah Winfrey Hails Purpose Prize Winners
10/19/2011 - 12:02:47pm
Oprah Winfrey has her sights on two 2010 Purpose Prize winners. Margaret Gordon and Dana Freyer were recently showcased on Oprah.com for the extraordinary work they do in their encores.
- by: Stefanie Weiss | More >
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| Helen Karr |
| Contact Helen Karr |
Purpose Prize Fellow 2011
For 25 years, Helen Karr managed beauty salons, where she heard countless stories from older women about how they were being financially abused by their children or caregivers – the same people who had been entrusted to look after their finances. Their painful stories struck a chord in her heart and compelled her to find a way to help.
“I knew I needed to become an attorney to be able to help financially exploited elder women in a legal manner,” she says.
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| Phillip Jackson , The Black Star Project |
| Visit The Black Star Project's website |
| Contact Phillip Jackson |
The Black Star Project
Purpose Prize Fellow 2011
Raised by his grandmother in Chicago’s public housing, Phillip Jackson spent most of his childhood learning to hustle on 43rd St., moving through 11 Chicago public schools and dropping out of college. That was until a young philosophy professor mentored him, helping him turn his life around.
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| Esther Hyneman , Women for Afghan Women |
| Visit Women for Afghan Women's website |
| Contact Esther Hyneman |
Women for Afghan Women
Purpose Prize Fellow 2011
When Esther Hyneman retired after decades as an English professor, she decided she wanted to pursue an international career. Outraged by the rape, murder and silencing of women under the Taliban, Hyneman became interested in advocacy work to help the women in Afghanistan achieve basic human rights – to safety, to an education, to work.
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| Vivian Lowery Derryck , The Bridges Institute |
| Contact Vivian Lowery Derryck |
The Bridges Institute
Purpose Prize Fellow 2011
While spending a summer in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa, in college, Vivian Derryck witnessed firsthand how girls like the daughters of her neighbor Fatamatou worked in the fields while boys attended school.
The experience inspired her long career in international development – during which she worked closely with African government leaders, nonprofits and the U.S. Agency for International Development – to try to implement strong education and health systems through citizen participation and good governance.
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| Judith Clinco , Arizona Direct Care Worker Association |
| Visit Arizona Direct Care Worker Association's website |
| Contact Judith Clinco |
Arizona Direct Care Worker Association
Purpose Prize Fellow 2011
Nationwide, 3 million direct care workers look after the elderly, and people with chronic illnesses and disabilities, in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult care homes, group homes and private homes. As the population ages, another 1 million will be needed in the next five years. And yet the care givers themselves are hardly respected and poorly paid.
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| Salome Chasnoff , Beyondmedia Education |
| Visit Beyondmedia Education's website |
| Contact Salome Chasnoff |
Beyondmedia Education
Purpose Prize Fellow 2011
When Salome Chasnoff was in graduate school while raising two children, one school project changed the course of her life. She facilitated a workshop for pregnant teens as part of her graduate studies. She realized she wanted to devote her film career to social justice. She later released the film Beyond Beijing, which documented women’s worldwide struggles for equity, in 1996.
President and CEO
Lakeview Ranch Inc.
Purpose Prize Fellow 2011
For seven years, Judy Berry watched her mother endure 12 hospitalizations for dementia-related behavior. However, Berry thought her mother didn’t fare well during treatment – she was often overmedicated (with what Berry later learned were inappropriate psychotropic drugs), strapped into a chair and left to wither away.
