We Honor Our Troops

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, the conflict on the Western Front of World War I ceased. Regrettably the celebrations have become more meaningful as the number of conflicts and, inevitably, unnecessary tragedies have grown.

We celebrate our veterans, the work they have done and the bravery they show when they put their lives on the line. But it seems at times we neglect to recognize the struggle they face after their return. Enlistment and service can become a lifelong commitment for those who have suffered the traumas of war.

In 2008, the Discovery Military Channel's website released a video of ours addressing the troubles and triumph of retired Sgt. Juan Arredondo: his recovery after a tragic explosion that resulted in the loss of his left hand and a great deal of his calf muscles. In memory and appreciation of our soldiers, please view this video, pass it along and remind those around you that the perils of war follow our soldiers beyond the battle field.

Purpose Prize 2009 Winner - Judith Broder

As Judith Broder watched a play documenting the mental anguish some veterans experience after coming come from war, something clicked. As a psychiatrist, she knew that without help some soldiers would never get past what they had seen and done. She also understood that a veteran's distress can painfully affect loved ones. Taking action, Broder created an organization that supports free, confidential, unlimited therapy to service members and their families.

Purpose Prize 2009 Winner - Timothy Will

Tim Will saw that his adopted community - chosen for its stunning beauty - was decaying. Manufacturing jobs, the Appalachian county's economic base, had moved elsewhere, and the area lacked the infrastructure to support new business in a technology-driven world. So Will used his telecommunications background to connect the North Carolina county's agrarian past to a digitally supported future. After getting the rural area wired (no small feat), he linked local farmers and chefs in the nearest big city through an online ordering system, bringing laid-off factory workers back to farming and lifting the area's economy.

Purpose Prize 2009 Winner - Don Coyhis

Don Coyhis felt emptiness in sobriety. He found himself going through the motions at support group meetings, disconnected from the reasons why he shouldn't drink. Searching for understanding, he turned to his Native American roots. During a five-day fast in the Colorado mountains, Coyhis saw a white bison rise from the ground - to him, a sign that his recovery would be incomplete without his culture. Coyhis founded a nonprofit offering native-focused recovery resources to communities across the country, and in turn, launched a movement called Wellbriety.

Purpose Prize 2009 Winner - Duncan Campbell

One night when Duncan Campbell was 3, he went looking for his parents. Police found the couple at a bar. Through boyhood and adolescence, Campbell felt he was raising himself. Somehow, he fought against his disadvantages and eventually established a successful investment firm. Now, he's investing in children. His national organization looks for kids "who have accumulated the most heartache and trouble," promising them a caring adult in their lives from age 5 or 6 until they approach adulthood themselves. The mentors are paid professionals, not volunteers, helping to ensure quality, consistency, and commitment.

Purpose Prize 2009 Winners - Stephen & Elizabeth Alderman

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.

Purpose Prize 2009 Winner - James Smallwood

This weekend the San Francisco non-profit organization Civic Ventures held their annual Encore Careers Summit, where they introduced to a very large crowd the winners of the 2009 Purpose Prize. Talking Eyes Media produced a short video for each of the winners, traveling all over the United States this fall to meet and film the recipients. Along the way we met many wonderful people doing amazing things with their second or third (or fourth!) careers.

In honor of the Summit, we'll be posting a video a day to our blog, so that you can get to know the winners a little better. If you want to see all the videos right now, head over to our website where we have a special page devoted to the Purpose Prize winners. To read more in depth information on each winner head over to encore.org. We'll start off today with the first winner we filmed, James Smallwood from Camden, NJ.

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James Smallwood was homeless, drug-addicted, and bug-infested. Knowing he might die on the streets, he got himself into a rehabilitation center and promised God that he if got clean, he would help others. Smallwood beat his cocaine dependency and is now fulfilling his vow through a nonprofit he created to serve ex-convicts, drug addicts, and the homeless in Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. The organization trains program participants for work in the construction trades, while helping them with reading, math, and job-hunting skills.