Purpose, Passion, Impact:
$225,000 Awarded to Six Social Innovators Over 60 in 2015 Purpose Prize
Contact: Marci Alboher, VP of Marketing and Communications, malboher@encore.org
San Francisco, CA. On November 13, Encore.org is awarding The Purpose Prize® to six outstanding individuals over 60 who are using their encore years – the time of traditional retirement – to undertake significant social-impact projects. This year’s winners will receive prizes of $25,000 to $100,000, joining a cohort of 508 Purpose Prize winners and fellows, who have been awarded more than $5 million since 2006. The 2015 Purpose Prize marks a decade of ground-breaking innovation that challenges outdated thinking about contributions of experienced adults.
Among the 2015 winners:
A former investigative reporter, whose advocacy on behalf of children with disabilities has challenged international institutionalization, and won the support of the U.N. Special Committee on Torture.
A former science teacher turned Episcopal priest, whose weeklong intergenerational music camps have connected Native Alaskan elders to 2,000 youth in remote villages.
A former Black Panther, whose theater workshops and performances inspire New York City youth to become “artivists” – and to finish high school and go on to college.
These are three of the six 2015 winners of The Purpose Prize, awarded by Encore.org, a national nonprofit that is building a movement to tap the experience of people in midlife and beyond to improve communities and the world.
Now in its 10th year, The Purpose Prize is the nation’s only large-scale investment in people over the age of 60 who combine their life skills and talents for the social good. First awarded in 2006 by Encore.org (then called Civic Ventures), the Prize recognizes social innovators with the drive to tackle some of society’s most pressing challenges – and the wisdom to know how to do it. Their work showcases the enormous, and too-often overlooked, value of experience.
“When we launched The Purpose Prize in 2006, the idea that people in their 60s and 70s (and beyond) were every bit as innovative as those in their 20s and 30s was blasphemy. And the notion that they were every bit as committed to solving society’s biggest challenges was not even considered seriously. Ten years–and more than 500 Purpose Prize winners and fellows later – it’s an indisputable truth,” said Encore.org founder and CEO Marc Freedman. “We can’t wait to see what these creative, passionate innovators will do next.”
“The 2015 winners of The Purpose Prize have applied their significant talents to address social injustice, health care access and the empowerment of people of all ages who lack basic resources, at home and abroad,” said Purpose Prize director Eunice Nichols. “Each person we honor today is doing the most important work of their lives, achieving substantial social impact while finding personal fulfillment in the process.”
These powerful examples shine as models for millions of Americans who believe they can use their life experience to make a difference.
The 2015 winners of The Purpose Prize are:
Laurie Ahern, Disability Rights International, Washington DC. Journalist Laurie Ahern became an advocate for children held in abusive institutions, fighting torture, training activists and improving lives in 36 countries. ($100,000 Purpose Prize)
Patricia Foley Hinnen, Capital Sisters International, Golden CO. Micro-lending champion Patricia Foley Hinnen capitalizes on equality and economic justice through bonds that have funded 15,000 international microloans in the fight against the feminization of poverty. ($25,000 Purpose Prize for Financial Inclusion, sponsored by MetLife Foundation)
Jamal Joseph, IMPACT Repertory Theatre, New York, NY. Former Black Panther Jamal Joseph has created a refuge where thousands of young people can escape the violence in their lives, learn leadership skills and create art for social change. ($25,000 Purpose Prize)
Dr. Samuel Lupin, Housecalls for the Homebound, Spring Valley, NY. In partnership with his son-in-law and grandson, Dr. Samuel Lupin has modernized the tradition of medical house calls, bringing essential health care to more than 4,000 homebound elderly patients. ($25,000 Purpose Prize for Intergenerational Collaboration, sponsored by The Eisner Foundation)
Rev. Belle Mickelson, Dancing with the Spirit, Cordova, AK. Rev. Belle Mickelson, a science-teacher-turned-Episcopal-priest, helps young and old fiddle in harmony, building connections with 2,000 youth in 29 remote Alaskan villages. ($25,000 Purpose Prize for Intergenerational Impact, sponsored by The Eisner Foundation)
Laura Safer Espinoza, Fair Food Standards Council, Sarasota, FL. Former judge Laura Safer Espinoza moved from the courtroom to Florida’s growing fields, bringing human rights and economic justice to more than 30,000 farmworkers and their families. ($25,000 Purpose Prize)
Twenty-six jurors – leaders in business, politics, media and the nonprofit sector – chose the six winners of The 2015 Purpose Prize. An additional 41 Purpose Prize fellows were selected from a pool of more than 600 nominees. Jurors include Sherry Lansing, former CEO of Paramount; Michael D. Eisner, former CEO of The Walt Disney Company and co-founder of The Eisner Foundation; Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post; Jo Ann Jenkins, CEO of AARP; Eric Liu, author and founder of Citizen University; and Sree Sreenivasan, Chief Digital Officer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The 2015 Purpose Prize winners and fellows will be honored on February 10, 2016, at a gala celebration at the San Francisco Jazz Center. The evening will mark ten years of Purpose Prize achievements and include a multimedia tribute to a decade of honorees and their work.
Emmy-award-winning journalist Jane Pauley and 2013 Purpose Prize winner and former anchorwoman Ysabel Duron will host the evening’s festivities, which will include hundreds of encore movement leaders and Purpose Prize honorees. The Purpose Prize was created by Encore.org with major investments from The Atlantic Philanthropies and the John Templeton Foundation.
See more at: http://www.encore.org/prize
About The Atlantic Philanthropies. The Atlantic Philanthropies (www.atlanticphilanthropies.org) is dedicated to advancing opportunity, equity and human dignity. Established in 1982, when Chuck Feeney quietly committed virtually all of his assets to the foundation, Atlantic has since made grants approaching $8 billion. In keeping with Mr. Feeney’s “Giving While Living,” big-bet philosophy, Atlantic invests in systemic change to accelerate improvements in the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people. The foundation, which has operated in Australia, Bermuda, Cuba, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United States and Viet Nam, will complete all grant making in 2016 and conclude operations shortly afterward.
About the John Templeton Foundation. The John Templeton Foundation (www.templeton.org) serves as a philanthropic catalyst for discoveries relating to the Big Question of human purpose and ultimate reality. The Foundation supports research on subjects ranging from complexity, evolution and infinity to creativity, forgiveness, love and free will. It encourages civil, informed dialogue among scientists, philosophers and theologians and between such experts and the public at large, for the purpose of definitional clarity and new insights.
About The Eisner Foundation. The Eisner Foundation (http://eisnerfoundation.org/) was started in 1996 by Michael D. Eisner, then-Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, and his wife Jane in order to focus their family’s philanthropic activities. The Eisner Foundation gives an estimated $7 million per year to nonprofit organizations based in Los Angeles County. The Eisner Prize for Intergenerational Excellence recognizes national organizations with innovative programs that bridge multiple generations in our communities. In 2015, The Eisner Foundation became the only U.S. funder investing exclusively in intergenerational solutions.
About MetLife Foundation. MetLife Foundation (www.metlife.org) was created in 1976 to continue MetLife’s long tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. Since its founding through the end of 2014, MetLife Foundation has provided more than $670 million in grants and $70 million in program-related investments to organizations addressing issues that have a positive impact in their communities. Today, the Foundation is dedicated to advancing financial inclusion, committing $200 million to help build a secure future for individuals and communities around the world.
About Encore.org. Encore.org is a national nonprofit that is building a movement to tap the skills and experience of those in midlife and beyond to improve communities and the world. The Purpose Prize is a program of Encore.org.
Short project summaries for all 2015 Purpose Prize winners follow. Longer bios and high-resolution photos are available.
About Laurie Ahern. Laurie Ahern is no stranger to hardship. She was abused as a child and briefly confined to a psychiatric hospital as a young adult. Later, as a struggling single mother, she landed a job as an investigative reporter. After winning awards in this field, she spent a decade at a mental health non-profit and then joined Disability Rights International (DRI). Her personal resiliency equipped her to jump in to the new field of human rights. She has made hundreds of international trips to expose the egregious abuse of children with disabilities in orphanages, and their needless institutionalization worldwide. Ahern brings attention to the fact that 90 to 98 percent of children in orphanages around the world have a living parent or family member. Yet poverty, stigma and misinformation push children – especially those with disabilities – into orphanages, which make promises of a better life, but often become feeders for human trafficking and forced labor. Today, Ahern persistently attacks the warehousing of 10 million children in orphanages rather than being supported to live with families. She spurs activism through DRI’s Worldwide Campaign to End the Institutionalization of Children and pushes governments and funders to support humane alternatives. Ahern broke new ground by convincing the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture to recognize abuse in orphanages as torture. In her lifetime, Ahern wants to end the abuse and segregation of children as a fundamental human right. “It’s a matter of shifting the mindset and shifting the dollars.” Her passion is both personal and public, she said. “I couldn’t walk away seeing another child tied up, in pain, abused. I wish somebody had swooped in and saved me, but no one did. But I’m going to be damned sure that I do something about it.” ($100,000 Purpose Prize.)
About Patricia Foley Hinnen. As a girl, Patricia Foley Hinnen was told she couldn’t be a “paperboy.” As a young woman, among the first to work in an underground mine while earning money for grad school, she fought for equal treatment. Later, in the Peace Corps, she witnessed the devastating impact of predatory moneylenders who charged 20% interest a day to impoverished female market vendors. These experiences led Hinnen to a career in economic development and international affairs. On visits to more than 60 countries, she witnessed the increasing feminization of poverty, despite billions in international aid. Females own less than 1 percent of the world’s private property and earn approximately 10 percent of the world’s income. They represent two-thirds of the world’s illiterate and 75 percent of the world’s poorest people, living on a dollar a day. The growing microfinance industry can meet only 15 to 20 percent of the global demand for microloans, with few opportunities for investments that empower women. At 51, Hinnen launched her own social enterprise, Capital Sisters International, which offers a $1,000 zero-interest security that exclusively finances women’s microloans in developing countries. Her “Sister Bonds” are one of the only global microfinance investment products available to the average household investor, allowing them to respond to global poverty – and then get their money back. To date, 100 percent of investors have reinvested in Sister Bonds. Hinnen has raised $1.5 million via Sister Bonds, providing 15,000 micro loans to support 75,000 women and family members in Guatemala and the Philippines. By 2020, Capital Sisters International plans to have raised $15 million, funding 150,000 loans in five countries. “My mom always said my first two words were ‘How come?’” Hinnen says. Now, in her encore, Hinnen sees only opportunity – for herself and the thousands of women she’s helping around the world. ($25,000 Purpose Prize for Financial Inclusion, sponsored by MetLife Foundation.)
About Jamal Joseph. Filmmaker and artistic director Jamal Joseph grew up in the Bronx in foster care; he joined the Black Panthers at age 15, where he received his education in social justice. Incarcerated twice for Panther-related activities, he experimented with “artivism” while in prison, reveling in the power of theater to bring opposing prison factions together. Years after his release, the gunshot death of a local boy inspired Joseph to create IMPACT Repertory Theatre, a refuge for Harlem youth to learn creative arts and leadership skills as alternatives to gun violence and despair. Access to a program like IMPACT in his youth, Joseph said, “would have been life-changing. My mentors said the only way to change the system is to tear it down.” Instead, giving young people a voice provides them with a solid foundation for adulthood, and enables them to become role models for rising generations. At IMPACT, students participate in a 12-week ‘boot camp’ that blends arts and social action – and reinforces the value of technique, discipline, passion and community. Joseph sets clear expectations and rewards, giving youth many opportunities to share their work. To date, IMPACT has helped thousands of kids experience success academically and personally, in the wider world. In fact, 75 percent of youth who participate in IMPACT through high school go on to college, far above average for the community. Joseph plans to continue IMPACT’s work in Harlem but dreams of a permanent home for the program, and enough funding to replicate IMPACT in other communities. He sees IMPACT as his second chance. “I feel like my life truly has some meaning,” he says. “I have something so joyful to wake up to in the morning, every morning, knowing that I do this work.” ($25,000 Purpose Prize.)
About Dr. Samuel Lupin. Dr. Samuel Lupin had a busy office-based medical practice when his daughter Lois fell critically ill. Caring for her required a more flexible schedule, so he shuttered his practice and began making house calls. After Lois’ death, Lupin continued his house calls practice, both to honor his daughter’s memory and to meet the needs of his homebound elderly patients, many with serious chronic health conditions and limited access to health care. When his grandson Daniel developed a scalable business model, and his son-in-law Avi designed technology to support the growing, mobile practice, Lupin’s one-doc shop soon grew into a thriving multigenerational project that has now served over 4,000 patients. Approximately two million elderly people in the U.S are homebound, often forgoing regular medical care until hospitalization is required for urgent treatment. Housecalls for the Homebound’s innovation marries high-quality medical care for isolated, underserved patients with a humane working environment for physicians. By blending personalized house calls with technological innovations in scheduling, testing, diagnosis and medications, physicians can provide the hands-on care that motivated many to enter the profession, as well as an on-call safety net to manage and treat chronic health conditions before they become emergencies requiring hospitalization. The close collaboration across the generations serves as a powerful example of diverse human skill sets coming together to tackle a common goal. To date, more than 4,000 homebound patients have been treated by Housecalls, leading to 50 percent reductions in re-hospitalizations of recently discharged patients and profound savings in Medicare fees. Housecalls has grown beyond its humble roots. But for Lupin, the project continues to connect him to Lois. “Ten years fly by, but the minutes don’t,” he says. “Doing something that reminds me of her fills the vacuum. Everybody likes to feel they’ve accomplished something that will outlast them.” ($25,000 Purpose Prize for Intergenerational Collaboration, sponsored by The Eisner Foundation.)
About Rev. Belle Mickelson. Alaska science teacher Belle Mickelson grew up playing violin and later, bluegrass fiddle. While playing with Native elders one day, she learned of a rash of teen suicides. Wondering how to help, she kept returning to the power of music. Mickelson started a bluegrass camp that gave older musicians the chance to share their musical traditions. But her dream was to take her camp on the road. After a career change and divinity school – and against extraordinary logistical odds – Mickelson created a traveling music program that has brought music to 2,000 youth living in remote Alaskan villages. While life in Alaska is culturally rich, Alaskan people suffer high rates of suicide, substance abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault and poverty. Isolation means scarce access to stores, fresh produce and running water, let alone paying jobs. Athabascan fiddling is a cultural treasure amongst Alaskan elders, which Mickelson taps to bring communities in remote and vulnerable villages together. Many staff are Native Alaskan, who along with local elders, bridge cultures and generations, teaching stories and songs in their native language as they pass on wisdom, music and heritage. Mickelson understands that small things can change the course of a life, as hers did, decades earlier. “I just think how many kids have gone to camps because a friend said to me, ‘you should play the fiddle.’” Since 2006, Dancing with the Spirit has traveled to 29 Alaskan villages, and to Hawaii, the Navajo Indian Reservation, Canada’s Northwest Territories and Ontario’s Six Nations Reserve. Mickelson is piloting suicide prevention curriculum to go with her music program, which she dreams of bringing to every village in the state. “People are out there praying for you to come and help them,” says Mickelson. “When you answer that call, you will be blessed beyond anything you can ever imagine.” ($25,000 Purpose Prize for Intergenerational Impact, sponsored by The Eisner Foundation.)
About Laura Safer Espinoza. After 20 years on the New York bench, Judge Laura Safer Espinoza retired to Florida at 56, only to discover that farmworkers there had been suffering grave abuses. Southwest Florida had been labeled “ground zero for modern day slavery,” with federal prosecutors pressing high-profile cases involving agricultural workers held in conditions of forced labor, including wage theft, assault and health and safety violations. Safer Espinoza volunteered to help out at the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a legendary workers human rights group. They responded that her entire legal career had prepared her to lead the newly formed Fair Food Standards Council (FFSC). The CIW had brokered agreements with buyers who committed to pay an extra penny per pound for produce and to purchase only from growers who enforced a human-rights-based Code of Conduct. But enforcement was a challenge. Safer Espinoza’s experience was what was needed to bring together groups historically in conflict. Four growing seasons in, conditions on FFSC member farms have improved dramatically including no cases of forced labor, sexual assault or violence. Growers, even those initially resistant, now help to enforce the Code of Conduct. A 24/7 hotline has resolved over 1,100 worker complaints, and the “pennies” from large retail food companies including Walmart, YUM Brands and Whole Foods have raised over $20 million that has gone into worker paychecks. Safer Espinoza plans to extend FFSC’s reach to six new states and other crops. As long as farm workers are vulnerable, she will continue to work tirelessly on their behalf. “Enforcement of the program’s guarantees is my number one priority,” Safer Espinoza says. “I wake up excited to start the day, and stop reluctantly in the late night hours. How many times in a lifetime is one privileged to be part of such dramatic and meaningful change?” ($25,000 Purpose Prize.)
For additional information, visit www.encore.org/prize.