{"id":4134,"date":"2014-10-28T13:28:07","date_gmt":"2014-10-28T17:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=4134"},"modified":"2014-10-28T13:28:07","modified_gmt":"2014-10-28T17:28:07","slug":"the-new-york-times-column-gaining-in-years-and-helping-others-to-make-gains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=4134","title":{"rendered":"The New York Times Column: Gaining in Years, and Helping Others to Make Gains"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"story-continues-1\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"132\" data-total-count=\"132\"><a href=\"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?attachment_id=2310\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2310\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_44635\"  width=\"640\" height=\"360\"  data-origwidth=\"640\" data-origheight=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mBrILIUEDCs?enablejsapi=1&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&rel=1&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/figure><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"132\" data-total-count=\"132\"><a href=\"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?attachment_id=2310\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2310\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2310\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?attachment_id=2310\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/3images.jpg?fit=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"100,100\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"3images\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/3images.jpg?fit=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/3images.jpg?fit=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-2310\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/3images.jpg?resize=100%2C100&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"3images\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a>DAVID N. CAMPBELL\u2019S path to creating and running a volunteer organization began when he heard about the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #326891;\" title=\"Times article.\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2004\/12\/27\/international\/asia\/27quake.html\">2004 Indian Ocean tsunami<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"191\" data-total-count=\"323\">His response was something he had not seen coming. \u201cWhen I heard about it, I was overwhelmed,\u201d said Mr. Campbell, 72, a former technology executive. \u201cIn my gut, I knew I had to help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"129\" data-total-count=\"452\">He had never been to Thailand, and his experience as a volunteer had been limited to overseeing a United Way campaign in Buffalo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"488\" data-total-count=\"940\">The one-week visit Mr. Campbell had planned turned into a one-month stay, and a new way of life. Ten years later, he runs an organization,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #326891;\" title=\"The site.\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hands.org\/\">All Hands Volunteers<\/a>, a nonprofit based in Mattapoisett, Mass., that has dispatched 28,000 volunteers to 45 global disaster zones from Indonesia to the Philippines, Peru, Bangladesh and Haiti, as well as to dozens of domestic sites hit by tornadoes, hurricanes and flooding, including Detroit and Long Island and Staten Island after Hurricane Sandy.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-2\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"243\" data-total-count=\"1183\">The work is varied: rebuilding houses, packing knapsacks with school supplies for children, debris removal and basic gutting and cleanup. In exchange, All Hands provides volunteers with tools, meals and communal living arrangements at no cost.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"243\" data-total-count=\"1183\">\u201cNow I\u2019m a member of the Good for Nothing Club,\u201d said Mr. Campbell, who does not take a salary. \u201cWe want to do good \u2014 for nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"163\" data-total-count=\"1489\">But sometimes the world\u00a0<em>does<\/em>\u00a0pay you back. On Tuesday, in Tempe, Ariz., Mr. Campbell is to receive a cash prize of $100,000 in recognition and support of his work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"309\" data-total-count=\"1798\">He is one of this year\u2019s six winners of the Purpose Prize awarded to Americans 60 and older who have had an impact on the world. The award was created by\u00a0<a style=\"color: #326891;\" title=\"The site.\" href=\"http:\/\/www.encore.org\/\">Encore.org<\/a>, a nonprofit organization that\u2019s building a movement to tap the skills and experience of those in midlife and beyond to improve communities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"365\" data-total-count=\"2163\">A common spine runs among all of the winners: \u201cAn increasing number of people over 60 want to leave a legacy and do something that makes their children proud,\u201d said Ann MacDougall, president of\u00a0<a style=\"color: #326891;\" href=\"http:\/\/encore.org\/\">Encore.org<\/a>. \u201cThey\u2019re thinking about what\u2019s going to be read at their funeral. Not that it\u2019s right around the corner, but they start thinking in those terms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-3\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"114\" data-total-count=\"2277\">Now in its ninth year, the Purpose Prize will award $100,000 each to two winners and $25,000 each to four others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"325\" data-total-count=\"2602\">Charles Irvin Fletcher, 76, a former microwave systems engineer, will receive this year\u2019s other six-figure prize. After retiring, Mr. Fletcher, a lifelong horse lover, spent five years and 5,000 hours volunteering at a therapeutic riding center in the Dallas area dedicated to equine therapy for children with disabilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"147\" data-total-count=\"2749\">\u201cWhile the children enjoyed the ride, I didn\u2019t see any healing, and I thought more could be done and more should be done,\u201d Mr. Fletcher said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"161\" data-total-count=\"2910\">So he researched ways to provide science-based equine therapy. He met with medical specialists to learn about brain development and created a network of experts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"344\" data-total-count=\"3254\">Then in 2001, he founded\u00a0<a style=\"color: #326891;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.spirithorsetherapy.com\/\">SpiritHorse International<\/a>, a nonprofit based in Corinth, Tex., 30 miles north of Dallas. His ranch is now home to 31 horses and ponies, and is the headquarters for a worldwide network of 91 licensed therapeutic riding centers that serve children with disabilities in the United States, South America, Africa and Europe.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad-placeholder nocontent robots-nocontent\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/10\/25\/your-money\/winners-of-2014-purpose-prize.html?_r=1\">Read the COLUMN On THE NEW YORK TIMES<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<p id=\"story-continues-4\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"329\" data-total-count=\"3583\">At Mr. Fletcher\u2019s ranch in Corinth, roughly 400 children with disabilities, some as young as nine months, receive free weekly riding sessions on ponies with names like Buttercup and Peter Pan. The riders have a variety of medical conditions, including autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and spina bifida.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"91\" data-total-count=\"3674\">More than 5,000 children have been helped through the network since the gates first opened.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"212\" data-total-count=\"3886\">\u201cI believe that horses can feel spiritual messages,\u201d Mr. Fletcher said. \u201cThey can feel love. They can feel gratitude. They can feel approval, and they transmit those very simple feelings to the children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"143\" data-total-count=\"4029\">He added, \u201cThe reason this therapy works so well is that children with disabilities also have a very open spirit, and the horses sense it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"329\" data-total-count=\"4358\">The Rev. Richard Joyner, 62, pastor of the Conetoe Baptist Church in rural North Carolina, who created the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #326891;\" title=\"The site.\" href=\"http:\/\/conetoefamily.webs.com\/\">Conetoe Family Life Center,<\/a>\u00a0will receive a $25,000 Purpose Prize on Tuesday. The center uses its 25-acre garden to improve the health of the congregation members and to increase the members\u2019 high school graduation rates.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-5\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"108\" data-total-count=\"4466\">\u201cIt\u2019s not easy getting people in the South away from fried chicken and sweet tea,\u201d Pastor Joyner said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"280\" data-total-count=\"4746\">In 2005, Pastor Joyner had faced too many funerals at his church of 300 congregants. In one year alone, 30 under the age of 32 had died. Most of the deaths were health-related, stemming from poor diet and no exercise, he said. His own sister and brother had died of heart attacks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"380\" data-total-count=\"5126\">So he founded the center, which offers after-school and summer camp programs for children 5 to 18. The youths plan, plant and reap the produce, which, in turn, they peddle at farmers\u2019 markets, roadside stands and to local restaurants. They also maintain beehives to produce and supply honey to low-income neighbors. The income they earn goes to school supplies and scholarships.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"205\" data-total-count=\"5331\">Getting involved with farming was not easy for Pastor Joyner. \u201cI was a sharecropper\u2019s son, and we experienced a lot of racism,\u201d he said. \u201cI never wanted to ever have anything to do with farming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"254\" data-total-count=\"5585\">But that changed. \u201cThe eyes of the youth have helped me to see the land in a different perspective,\u201d he said. \u201cLand is the soul. Farming gives these youths, who are struggling, the power to grow something that impacts the health of their family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-6\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"259\" data-total-count=\"5844\">As healthy eating and exercise have become routine, people in the community have lost weight, emergency room visits for primary health care have dropped by 40 percent, and the number of deaths has dwindled. The youth are enrolling in college and finding jobs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"231\" data-total-count=\"6075\">As for Pastor Joyner, who runs five miles every other day and works in the garden, \u201cAfter being a preacher for 25 years, I never thought I would be doing something other than trying to get somewhere for a vacation at this age.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"73\" data-total-count=\"6148\">The other 2014 Purpose Prize winners who will receive $25,000 awards are:<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"270\" data-total-count=\"6418\">\u25a0 Dr. Pamela Cantor, 66, a child psychiatrist who runs an organization called\u00a0<a style=\"color: #326891;\" title=\"The site.\" href=\"http:\/\/turnaroundusa.org\/\">Turnaround for Children<\/a>\u00a0in New York City. Her group helps schools counter the effects of poverty on student learning, reaching tens of thousands of children in low-performing public schools.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-7\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"334\" data-total-count=\"6752\">\u25a0 Mauricio Lim Miller, 68, who founded\u00a0<a style=\"color: #326891;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.fii.org\/\">the Family Independence Initiative<\/a>in Oakland, Calif., which helps families in poverty. For example, families in the initiative have pooled their resources in 40 \u201clending circles\u201d worth $1.5 million that have helped them pay down debt, provide funds for education and start new businesses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"155\" data-total-count=\"6907\">\u25a0 Kate Williams, 72, who runs an employment program at\u00a0<a style=\"color: #326891;\" href=\"http:\/\/lighthouse-sf.org\/\">LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired<\/a>\u00a0in San Francisco, which helps the blind find jobs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"325\" data-total-count=\"7232\">In addition to the six winners selected from a pool of nearly 800 nominees, 38 Purpose Prize fellows will be honored for contributions to their communities. The awards are sponsored by the Atlantic Philanthropies, the John Templeton Foundation, Symetra Financial Corporation, the MetLife Foundation and the Eisner Foundation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"213\" data-total-count=\"7445\">Most of the winners tapped their own resources to start their endeavors, sometimes using credit cards or savings accounts \u2014 or, in one case, Social Security checks. Others raised money from personal connections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"232\" data-total-count=\"7677\">\u201cWe encourage people who want to move the needle to consider what interests and passions they already have and review their skills \u2014 those are more transferable than they think,\u201d Ms. MacDougall, Encore.org\u2019s president, said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"270\" data-total-count=\"7947\">\u201cSeek out a group whose mission you admire and see if there\u2019s a way to get involved by volunteering, joining a board or acting as a project adviser,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople who have organized things, been in marketing or sales or have managed people are in demand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"159\" data-total-count=\"8106\">The Purpose Prize recipients are free to use their jackpot any way they like. But don\u2019t expect to see them buying new cars or taking trips to the Caribbean.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"183\" data-total-count=\"8289\">\u201cMy big reward is seeing these children improve,\u201d Mr. Fletcher said. \u201cI love watching a little boy with cerebral palsy, who can barely walk, trying to run to get to his pony.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"183\" data-total-count=\"8289\"><span class=\"byline\" style=\"font-weight: bold;\">By\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\"><span class=\"byline-author\" data-byline-name=\"KERRY HANNON\">KERRY HANNON\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/span><time class=\"dateline\" style=\"font-weight: 300; color: #000000;\" datetime=\"2014-10-24\"><a href=\"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\">O<\/a>CT. 24, 2014<\/time><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-small.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"small\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"The New York Times Column: Gaining in Years, and Helping Others to Make Gains\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DAVID N. CAMPBELL\u2019S path to creating and running a volunteer organization began when he heard about the\u00a02004 Indian Ocean tsunami. His response was something he had not seen coming. \u201cWhen I heard about it, I was overwhelmed,\u201d said Mr. Campbell, 72, a former technology executive. \u201cIn my gut, I knew I had to help.\u201d He [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-small.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"small\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"The New York Times Column: Gaining in Years, and Helping Others to Make Gains\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3394,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[59,38,57,95,9,237],"tags":[286,112,333,284,285],"class_list":["post-4134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-careers","category-living-in-retirement","category-non-profit-work","category-older-workers-2","category-retirement","category-retirement-2","tag-encore","tag-encore-careers","tag-retirement","tag-the-new-yorj-times","tag-the-purpose-prize"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/the-new-york-times-logo.jpg?fit=1202%2C1056&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3YFQS-14G","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4134"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4144,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4134\/revisions\/4144"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}