The myth of an endless vacation, or winding down and stepping aside in retirement, is giving way to a new practical idealism: real jobs tackling real problems and making real impact. Even in the face of a challenging economy and shriveled nest eggs, the concept of social entrepreneurialism has been taking hold as Boomers inch past 50. Many, having climbed to the top of the corporate ladder, are wondering: “is this it?” or “now that I’ve reached the top of the corporate ladder, is my ladder, in fact, leaning against the wrong wall?”
Enter Civic Ventures and the inaugural Encore Careers Summit, which I had the privilege of attending at Stanford University last weekend.
“The Encore Careers campaign aims to engage millions of Boomers in encore careers, providing personal fulfillment doing paid work and producing a windfall of human talent to solve society's greatest problems.”
According to a 2008 MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Encore Career Survey more than 8.4 million people ages 44 to 70 have begun encore careers (the majority of these are women). Of those not already in encore careers, half say they want them.
To recognize and support this movement of Boomer social innovators, the Encore Careers campaign launched The Purpose Prize. Now in its third year, the 2008 recipients include a retired language professor who organizes volunteers to help thousands of war refugees start a new life – in Fargo, North Dakota; an immigrant who arrived with $6 in his pocket who now helps send Latino students to college – with money raised from his fellow gardeners in California; and a retired marketing executive who launched “Get Out and Stay Out” – an organization to help reduce recidivism rates for young men once they leave prison through coaching, education and job training.
The 15 recipients of the 2008 Purpose Prize – six $100,000 winners and nine $10,000 winners – are taking on some of society's biggest challenges, from poverty to pollution and from health care to homelessness. They are also demonstrating that social innovation can spring from an unexpected source: experienced adults over 60.
As Carol Larson of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation pointed out in the Summit’s opening remarks, “Boomers represent an unprecedented ‘experience dividend.’ Are we going to sacrifice this valuable resource to passive retirement?”
The encore stories are so uplifting and fascinating it would seem that the "regular" media would love to interview some of the people - and the folks at Civic Ventures
Posted by: Kare Anderson | December 10, 2008 at 04:17 PM