BKFK's Norman Goldstein Named
Purpose Prize Fellow, Social Entrepreneur
STAMFORD, Conn. - September 22, 2006 - Civic Ventures, a think tank and program incubator helping society achieve the greatest return on experience, has designated Scarsdale's Norman Goldstein as one of its inaugural Purpose Prize Fellows, a major new initiative to invest in Americans over 60 who are leading a new age of social innovation. Mr. Goldstein also recently participated (September 7-9) in the first-ever “Purpose Prize Innovation Summit” at Stanford University. The Summit showcased the role of experience in creating innovative and lasting change.
“It is an honor to be recognized as a Purpose Prize Fellow,” commented Norman Goldstein, CEO and Founder of BKFK Co., “It's a great feeling to be able to contribute a life's worth of business experience to kids in order to help make this world a better place.”Cosponsored by Civic Ventures and the Stanford Graduate School of Business' Center on Social Innovation, one of the world's leading academic centers focused on social entrepreneurship, the summit showcased how Fellows are using their experience and skills to solve long-standing problems. Norm Goldstein achieved distinction as a Purpose Prize Fellow through his work with BKFK Co., “BKFK,” an organization dedicated to inspiring kids to maximize their creative potential.
America's cumulative “student body” exhibits a marked lack of interest in critical 21st century innovation skills in science, technology, engineering and math. This pressing social problem threatens the ability of America's future workforce and our global competitive position. Norm Goldstein and BKFK are meeting this challenge head on through national deployment of the BKFK Inventive Thinking program.
“It's conventional wisdom that young people drive entrepreneurialism and innovation, but The Purpose Prize Fellows turn that outdated notion on its head,” said Marc Freedman, founder and President of Civic Ventures. “These inspiring men and women illustrate an emerging trend in our society, as millions of aging Americans turn their experience and passion for change into meaningful work in the second half of life.”
Purpose Prize Fellows are selected each year from the top
candidates for The Purpose Prize, a program that awards five $100,000
prizes and ten $10,000 prizes to people over the age of 60 who are tackling
the toughest problems in their communities and the country. The Fellowship
program and the Innovation Summit supports these innovators, helps them
develop their capacity, links them with funders and venture philanthropists,
and seeks to combine these individual efforts into a wave of social innovation
that could transform America.
“Today's boomers and older Americans are an extraordinary pool of
social and human capital that – with the right investment –
could yield unprecedented returns for society,” said Freedman. “Instead
of being a lifetime achievement award, The Purpose Prize is an investment
in what these amazing individuals will do next to solve important
problems.”
About Civic Ventures
Civic Ventures is a think tank and program incubator, working to help society achieve the greatest return on experience. To learn more, visit www.CivicVentures.org. For more information about The Purpose Prize and the winners, visit www.LeadWithExperience.org.
About BKFK Co.
BKFK., a closely held corporation based in Stamford, Conn., is the leading global marketing, branding and licensing company dedicated to making kids' ideas a reality. Their mission is to inspire, motivate and stimulate the innovative spirit within all kids. In addition to providing free support and educational resources to the world's children, BKFK provides entrepreneurial experiences for young inventors and supports the entire ideation through commercialization process.
So what is so unique about the BKFK approach? BKFK believes kids are naturally creative and provides free educational resources, including the Inventive Thinking Program, to encourage all kids to think differently and invent new things. Inventive Thinking is a critical 21st century skill, and the kids who master this skill will succeed in the increasingly global economy. BKFK also supports and develops kid-invented products with commercial potential, absorbing all costs from early patent search to retail distribution. Participating kids cultivate valuable self-esteem, entrepreneurial skills and have the potential to earn significant royalties if their product resonates with other kids in the marketplace.
For more information about BKFK, visit www.bkfk.com
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Contact:
John Forrester +1 (323) 702-3684 media@bkfk.com