The Olsen Family

Derek, Amanda, Halee, Rylee, and Jacie Olsen

I met Derek and Amanda Olsen tonight in the lobby of the hospital. Three of their four impressive children were with them as well. A few weeks back, Amanda - someone I had never met - contacted me, said she had heard about Project Armchair and she and her family wanted to help in some way. The thing that impressed me about this family was that the children were leading the way in raising funds for Project Armchair. They designed a poster, went door-to-door handing them out, and chose the books they would eventually donate. I asked Amanda to send me a quick synopsis of their story, and I was so touched when I read it, I am publishing it here for you to read as well. I am quite certain these children will grow up to be giving, selfless, wonderful adults. Thank you, Olsen Family, for blessing Project Armchair!

Here is their story in Amanda's own words...

I heard about Project Armchair through a nurse friend when we were talking about how much we love books, and my middle daughter, Rylee, loves to read out loud. My initial hope was to get her involved directly in serving in this way so I told her about it and started looking around online. The more I looked, the more I learned that although we couldn't be involved in the reading part like we had first hoped, we definitely wanted to be involved in some way. Every child should have opportunities to have the world of books directly in their hands. 

So, we decided to raise money somehow so that we could donate books. The obvious solution was to go door to door in our neighborhood with a Thirty-one fundraiser, since I am a consultant, asking people for orders that would directly support Project Armchair. We designed some posters and headed out. My son and 3 daughters, Isaac - 14, Halee - 12, Rylee - 10, & Jacie - 8, all walked throughout our neighborhood, knocking on doors, handing out info, and collecting orders and cash donations. When all was said and done, with my donated commission and other donations, we had just over $200 to spend!

We took a trip to Barnes & Noble and the kids each picked out several books from their age groups to donate. My kids were all troopers and servants throughout this process. They did the work and they did it with purpose, knowing the end result would put fantastic books in these kids' lives. 

Thank you so much for letting us be a part of your ministry! It's hard to find ways to raise our kids to be servants and volunteers with so many necessary restrictions in place with volunteering, but it is so important, so we carry on and continue to find ways to serve. We are blessed to have met you and hope to continue helping out when we can. Thanks again!

Amanda Olsen