With millions of baby boomers reaching retirement and the end of their professional careers, many are looking for a way to continue to contribute meaningfully to the world.
The Purpose Prize, whose 2009 winners were announced today, honors innovators over 60 who use their acquired expertise to selflessly help others around the world.
One winning couple, Elizabeth and Stephen Alderman, realized they could alleviate the suffering of thousands people to honor their son's memory:
The death of their son on 9/11 brought Elizabeth and Stephen Alderman merciless grief. Soon afterward, they learned in a news report that a billion people around the world had experienced severe trauma. The Aldermans could relate. They understand: Suffering is suffering. To honor their son and to treat living victims of trauma and terrorism, they created a globally focused foundation that helps create homegrown mental health systems chiefly in Africa, where violence of all kinds -- rape, war, kidnapping, the unspeakable -- has desecrated communities.
The Aldermans' project is one of 10 social innovations that were awarded $100,000 and $50,000 for contributing to global social change. Each winner has a detailed profile and a video detailing the cool and revolutionary things these winners have been working on in their "golden years."
The purpose prize is part of Encore.org, a website published by Civic Ventures, a nonprofit think tank that "focuses on creating pathways to encore careers that provide continued income doing work that is personally fulfilling and helps address some of society's biggest challenges."
The site is already accepting nominations for the 2010 innovators, so if you know someone who is over 60 and doing amazing things for humanity, consider passing on the word about their achievements.
You can also check out the Aldermans' Peter C. Alderman Foundation, where you can learn more about their work to heal the psychological wounds of terrorism and donate to their cause.