“Retirees” are finding themselves bored out of their minds and seeking new ventures or, in this case, adventures.
The Purpose Prize is a new award that recognizes older Americans whose innovative projects make a difference in others’ lives.
Robert Chambers is one of the 15 prize finalists. He’s a 61-year-old former car salesman in Lebanon, N.H., who decided he wanted to help low-income car buyers after watching scores of them get scammed by car dealers.
“When I worked in the car dealership I got sick and tired of watching low-income individuals get taken advantage of,” Chambers said.
Chambers now runs a nonprofit organization that arranges low-interest-rate auto loans and provides financial-education workshops for low-income people.
Often, their lack of good credit forces them to buy from car lots selling older used cars at steep profits. And, Chambers said, low-income people routinely pay steep interest rates on their auto loans. “Every week we see people that are paying 25%.”
Since 2001, Chambers’ nonprofit venture — Bonnie CLAC (for “car loans and counseling”) — has put new cars into the hands of 750 low-income people, all of whom also went through personal-finance classes.
Just 17 have failed to keep up with their payments, a failure rate that beats the industry average, Chambers said. Bonnie CLAC has guaranteed about $10 million in loans. A variety of foundation and other grants fund its work.
Meet the 2006 Finalists here.
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