Eve’s Fund Leaders Named 2013 Purpose Prize Fellows

Farmington, N.M. – Nov. 11, 2013 – Encore.org today announced that Eve’s Fund founder Robert Crowell and president Barbara Crowell Roy are 2013 Purpose Prize fellows. The Purpose Prize is the nation’s only large-scale investment in social entrepreneurs and other creative problem solvers in the second half of life. 

Crowell and Roy were named fellows because of their work to prevent brain and spinal cord injuries on the Navajo Nation. Their organization’s ThinkFirst Navajo program engages adult Navajos with paraplegia as VIPs (Voices for Injury Prevention), inviting them to share their personal injury stories with students in grades 1-12. To date, the program has taught more than 22,000 students about injury prevention. Read more about this successful injury prevention program and why they were chosen for this award at: http://www.encore.org/robert-crowell-barbara-roy 

“Purpose Prize fellows are using their passion and experience to help solve some of society’s toughest problems,” said Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Encore.org and author of The Big Shift. “They represent a growing wave of people in their 60s and beyond who are using their know-how to change the world, while shifting perceptions of what is possible in this stage of life.”

The Purpose Prize program is funded by the John Templeton Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, and Symetra. The Prize is awarded by Encore.org, a nonprofit that promotes encore careers – work that is both personally meaningful and serves the greater good. 

“We are honored to be recognized for our work with Eve’s Fund and the ThinkFirst Navajo program,” said Crowell and Roy. “Named in our daughter’s memory, Eve’s Fund is our encore career and Eve’s legacy.”

2013 Purpose Prize Fellows Barbara Crowell Roy & Dr. Bob Crowell

A panel of 21 judges – leaders in business, politics, journalism and the nonprofit sector – chose the seven winners from a pool of more than 1,000 nominees. This year’s 43 fellows are finalists for The Prize. An awards ceremony will be held in December in San Francisco. For more information about The Purpose Prize, visit: www.encore.org/prize. 

About Encore.org (www.encore.org)
Encore.org is a nonprofit organization building a movement to make it easier for millions of people to pursue “encore careers” – second acts for the greater good. The Purpose Prize, funded by the John Templeton Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies and Symetra, is a program of Encore.org.

About Eve’s Fund (www.evecrowellsfund.org)

Eve’s Fund for Native American Health Initiatives is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization that promotes hope, wellness and injury prevention among Native American youth. Dr. Robert M. Crowell founded Eve’s Fund in 2005 in memory of his daughter, Eve Erin Crowell. Since that time, the organization has developed strong community partnerships and created prevention and education programs impacting more than 22,000 Native children and young adults. For more information, go to https://evecrowellsfund.org.