Purpose Prize winner helps immigrants adjust
December 3rd, 2008
Fargo, N.D., is known for cold winters and a population descended from Scandinavian and German immigrants. The town is 94 percent white and it’s an aging community–one in five residents is over age 55.But Fargo–actually a part of the bigger Fargo-Moorhead metro area that straddles North Dakota and Minnesota–isn’t a stranger to diversity. The town has seen an influx of about 3,700 refugees over the past 10 years from more than 40 war-torn countries as part of a federal resettlement program that helps immigrants start new lives here.The immigrants come from countries like Iraq and Somalia, Bosnia and–most recently–Burundi. Most often, they arrive with little knowledge of English, let alone how to apply for a job, food stamps or a driver’s license.
The influx of immigrants has had a profound impact on the life of Michelle McRae, a college professor who retired in 2001 but soon found herself at the helm of a non-profit group working to smooth the integration of Fargo-Moorhead’s newcomers.
McRae’s work has just been recognized with a 2008 Purpose Prize. The award, given annually by the Encore Careers campaign–recognizes trailblazers who have demonstrated creative and effective work tackling social problems. This year, the winners were chosen from 1,000 nominees; six winners will receive $100,000 prizes, with another nine recipients getting $10,000 awards.
The Purpose Prize, now in its third year, was created to promote and encourage civic engagement among baby boomers. Along with McRae, this year’s winners include an inventor designing agricultural equipment for sustainable third world agriculture, an ex-marketing executive who started an organization to help keep young ex-offenders out of prison and the creator of a group that promotes green technology as a revitalization tool for rural African-American communities in South Carolina.
Read more about McRae and the Purpose Prize at RetirementRevised.com.
