A 67-year-old former science teacher from Cordova, Belle Mickelson, is one of six recipients of the Purpose Prize, announced Friday by Encore.org, a philanthropic group based in San Francisco.
Mickelson is a lifelong violinist and bluegrass fiddler. She founded a traveling music program, Dancing with the Spirit, in 2006 after considering ways that music might help prevent suicides among Native American youths. She decided that Athabascan-style fiddle playing, a popular music form in rural Alaska since the 1800s, could provide a vehicle that would bring communities together, teach a positive skill to young people and generally brighten life in remote towns often cut off from one another and the rest of the state.
Since then, the program has taught traditional fiddle playing to 2,000 young people living in 29 villages. Mickelson has also taken the program to indigenous communities in Hawaii, Canada and the American Southwest. She hopes eventually to bring it to every village in Alaska.
Mickelson became an ordained Episcopal priest after retiring as a teacher. She sees her music outreach as a component of her spiritual work. Dancing with the Spirit is hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska based in Fairbanks.
The Purpose Prize, which was first given in 2006, is awarded to people over 60 -- traditionally a time of retirement or, as the organization says, the "encore years" -- who "undertake significant social-impact projects." The prizes in various categories range from $25,000 to $100,000. As of this year 508 individuals have been so honored and more than $5 million has been awarded.
Mickelson will receive $25,000 with the Purpose Prize for Intergenerational Impact, which is sponsored by the Eisner Foundation, started by Michael D. Eisner when he was CEO of The Walt Disney Co. in 1996.