SAN FRANCISCO — One winner retired from the military and found his true calling: teaching disadvantaged youth in a homeless shelter. Another realized her childhood dream of becoming a nurse after a career in office management. A third, a former TV news producer, applied the passion she felt for vulnerable children to her new job raising money for a pediatric care center.

These are three examples of Americans who are successfully transitioning from mid-life careers to new encore careers — work that combines personal meaning and social impact with continued income in the second half of life. They and 14 others have won a trip to a first-ever summit on encore careers organized by Civic Ventures, a national think tank on boomers, work and social purpose.

The “My Encore Moment” story contest that they entered was sponsored by Encore.org, the growing network at www.encore.org for people seeking encore careers. The winners were selected from 324 applicants for their value in illustrating a growing trend: workers applying their life experiences and passions to new careers that benefit the greater good.

Their stories may be viewed on Encore.org: Story contest winners page. (See summaries of their stories below.)

“These winners represent the real stories of how everyday people are working to better themselves and better our country,” said Marc Freedman, CEO of Civic Ventures and author of Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life (recently republished in paperback). “They may not know it, but they are part of a movement that could transform our workforce and enhance our ability to tackle critical social problems.”

A June 2008 survey commissioned by Civic Ventures revealed that more than 5 million people ages 44-70 have already begun encore careers, and tens of millions more want such work.

The 17 storytellers won all-expense-paid trips to the first-ever Encore Careers Summit on December 6-8 at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business’ Center on Social Innovation. They will join hundreds of others in encore careers — as well as representatives of government, business, nonprofits, philanthropy and academia — to share, learn, network and plan how to strengthen the encore career movement.

Also attending the summit will be winners of the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Purpose Prize, an award of up to $100,000 for social innovators over 60. A program of the Encore Careers Campaign, The Purpose Prize honors entrepreneurial examples of the encore career.

“The winners of the story contest show that encore careers are available to anyone. You don’t have to start your own organization or come up with a unique idea,” Freedman added. “There’s work that matters in every community and for every person.”

Funding for the contest, The Purpose Prize and the Encore Careers Summit comes from The Atlantic Philanthropies and the John Templeton Foundation, with additional support from AARP, Erickson Companies, New York Life Foundation, Hewlett-Packard Company and Legacy Works.

The “My Encore Moment” story contest winners are:

Patricia Boies (Washington, D.C.)
Boies’s encore career was born from tragedy. After her 10-year-old daughter died from a cerebral hemorrhage, Boies left a public affairs career to study thanatology, the field of death and dying. She does community outreach at a hospice in Washington, D.C., helping others deal with loss.

Susan Burket (Potomac, Maryland)
At age 50, Burket decided computer programming didn’t satisfy her desire to give back. She wanted to take a bigger leap than volunteering offered. Today she’s a communications manager for a nonprofit hospice, working long hours for less pay — but happy about making a difference.

Arlene Carter (Seattle, Washington)
When Carter was laid off from her job as an HR director/office manager for a construction company, she saw it as an opportunity. A friend alerted her to a fundraising position for the foundation of a senior housing community nearby, which was turned out to be a perfect fit.

Sandy Cherry (Dayton, Ohio)
Cherry has always been grateful for quality long-term care, since her own sister moved to a nursing facility at 19. After volunteering at a nursing home, Cherry retired from AT&T, got a social work degree and now works as program director and resident advocate at a nursing home.

Pat Dexter (Mesa, Arizona)
Growing up in a working-class family, Dexter was used to barely getting by. Later in life, she gave up retirement after her son’s death to help her grandchildren pay for college. Her wages as a literacy tutor were barely enough, but she loves her work and now plans to be a substitute teacher.

Judi Henderson-Townsend (Oakland, California)
When Henderson-Townsend went shopping for a mannequin for an art project, she was shocked to discover how many end up in landfills. She quit her corporate job and founded Mannequin Madness, which recycles 100,000 pounds of mannequins a year to retailers and individuals.

Bart Kendrick (Arlington, Virginia)
Tired of hearing Kendrick complain that “early retirement isn’t what it was cracked up to be,” a friend suggested he put his 30 years of media experience to work for the Peace Corps. After two public affairs positions, he is now the organization’s National Outreach and Diversity Manager.

Martha Koelemay (Oden, Arkansas)
When Koelemay was a little girl, she wore a handmade nurse’s uniform and dispensed care to neighbors. But as an adult, she ended up in office management. After finishing nursing school in her mid-50s, she now works as a registered nurse in the ICU of a small rural hospital.

David Leopard (Richardson, Texas)
When Leopard took early retirement from his work in law enforcement and corporate security, he began giving volunteer talks on avoiding identity theft. After five years and speeches to 10,000 people, he now is working with the Texas legislature to pass a bill to crack down on identity theft.

Carol Mannes (New York, New York)
Burnt out on her career as an actress, Mannes went back to school to study social work and found the perfect job: providing social services to entertainment industry workers. At 70, she works for the Actors Fund, specializing in assisting women with serious medical and mental health issues.

Mark McVay (Denver, Colorado)
After retiring from the military, McVay began teaching. But it wasn’t until he started teaching high school students in a classroom located in a homeless shelter that he found his true calling: serving the needs of the disenfranchised, including young people who have little place else to turn.

Sheila Moore (Ooltewah, Tennessee)
For Moore, training corporate executives to increase shareholder stock value was no longer fulfilling. A free workshop she gave to nonprofit leaders reignited her passion. She is now the interim executive director of the nonprofit management center where she used to volunteer.

Milton Morgan (Santa Barbara, California)
Morgan put his experience as former IT consultant to work for Computers for Families, which bridges the digital divide by providing computers, Web access and training to low-income youth. His dream is to wire affordable housing communities with broadband access for youth and adults.

Pattie Pardini-Barrett (Chico, California)
In her 50s, inspired to provide more counseling services to low-income people, Pardini-Barrett went back to school for an M.A. in psychology. She’s now a mental health clinician for her county, providing treatment, case management and parenting classes for families with children.

Elaine Purchase (North Bend, Washington)
A former TV news producer, Purchase never forgot the children she encountered covering the crack epidemic and war zones. She devoted herself full time to helping vulnerable children as development director for a pediatric care center, making a new, state-of-the-art building a reality.

Valerie Stinger (Palo Alto, California)
While stuck in rush-hour traffic, Stinger had a revelation: It was time to give up her corporate career and focus on making a difference. She joined the Peace Corps, which led to her current stint providing business training for entrepreneurs in places like the Sudan and the former U.S.S.R.

Robert Ward (Lewes, Delaware)
Ward has been working since he was 11, from fixing buckles in a belt factory to stints in the Navy and in education. But it was his wife who inspired him to come out retirement and take up her profession. Ward now works as a nurse in a cardiology unit.

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About Civic Ventures
Civic Ventures (www.civicventures.org) is a national think tank on boomers, work and social purpose.

About Encore.org
Encore.org serves the growing network of people who want the personal fulfillment of giving back, along with continued income. It is an initiative of Civic Ventures.