Episode 103 | Meant for More with Karen Olsen

LWH Closing: That's a wrap for today's episode of Lead with Hope. Remember, the world needs your leadership and change starts with you. Fuel your life with HOPE, your purpose, and shine your light for others. ⁓ this episode inspired you, I'd be so grateful if you could take a moment to give us a five-star rating and share it. ⁓

Brandi Kelly: Let's pause for just a moment because I want to tell you about a partner who truly aligns with the heart of this podcast, Convissary. Here on Lead with Hope, we talk a lot about clarity, clarity of purpose, clarity of voice, and clarity of direction. And that's exactly where Convissary comes in. They help leaders, educators, and change makers uncover the story behind their work and share it in a way that feels honest, meaningful, Before we get started, I want to thank our legacy partner, Craig Williams, founder of Convissary. As FarCope, we believe story matters because story shapes how we lead, how we connect, and how we show up in the world. Convissary helps authors and leaders bring clarity to their story and confidence to their voice so that their brand truly reflects who they are. You can learn more about their work by visiting the link in today's show notes.

speaker-0: to the Lead with Hope podcast, where we explore the power of hope in leadership and in life. Today I'm honored to be joined by Karen Olson. She's the founder and the CEO of Family Promise, a national organization that has helped more than one million families experiencing homelessness. journey began with a simple act of kindness, stopping to offer a sandwich in conversation to a woman.

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speaker-0: Outside Grand Central Station. That moment sparked a mission that grew into a nationwide movement, now supported by thousands of volunteers across the country. Her work has earned national recognition, including the Points of Light Award and the Jefferson Award for Public Service. Karen, we are so glad to have you here today. Welcome.

Brandi Kelly: or on the Spark Hope website. Thank you, Convissary, for supporting the Lead with Hope podcast. and deeply aligned with who they are. If you've ever felt the nudge to write a book, refine your message, or build a brand that actually reflects your values, not just your resume, Conversary doesn't rush you or box you in. They walk alongside you, helping you shape your story with intention and integrity.

speaker-1: Thank you. I'm delighted to be here and I look forward to our conversation.

speaker-0: Karen, I want to learn a little bit more about your story. I've recently read a book ⁓ called Theo on Golden. And one of the quotes in that book is, Every face is a story, and every story has a face. So we know that your your face has a story. So tell us a little bit about your story.

Brandi Kelly: A big thank you to Craig Williams and Convissary for being a legacy sponsor of this podcast And for investing in stories that matter because when we share our stories with clarity and hope, real change happens.

speaker-1: Sure. Be happy to. Well, I took an untraditional path to where ⁓ developed family promise. I always wanted to make a difference in people's lives, but that was really enhanced tragically my mother died suddenly when I was just twelve years old. ⁓ She suicide. And that pain was so deep. But that pain carried with it a mandate for me to serve others. I knew what hurt was and I didn't want anyone else to hurt. And that led me on a path to helping people and reaching out and to ul ultimately forming Family Promise, because if there was an ad in the newspaper for a CEO of Family Promise, I would never would have qualified. But maybe the qualifications here were ⁓ passion, pain as a silver lining and persistence. For whatever reason the time was right and me with other people who helped make this happen.

speaker-0: Our stories are very different, but turning that pain into purpose is something that we feel very strongly about. And we have that in common.

speaker-1: Yes. Yes, I agree. Pain into purpose powerful.

speaker-0: So Karen, you talked a little bit about turning pain into purpose and your mission has been so powerful over the years, affecting over one million And I think the goal ⁓ is ⁓ many, more million people being helped. but when you reflect on your life, on your journey, what lessons have had the biggest impact on your life or your leadership?

speaker-1: really to never never give up. If you're passionate about something and would like something to happen and with God's guidance you can do it, but you must have faith and you have to be prepared to be persistence. I just think that that really gave me guidance to move forward. It's pain. And against really at sometimes tremendous odds where I didn't know how anything could happen. But the passion drove my desire to make things happen. And I could come up against the ⁓ resistance as a way to ⁓ move me forward. In other words, it wasn't so much a hindrance on It helped me. It strengthened my resolve. It made me stronger. It made me more prayerful. And an incident that happens or a tragedy in your life. At first, that happens, you think, what am I gonna do? I have to give up. No, just take it a day at a time. and pray and know that will will guide you, but if your passion is strong enough, it can ⁓ any any kind of resistance. So the lesson I learned really was persistence. ⁓ ⁓ to achieve you believe God wants you to achieve. It's not gonna be easy. That's a lesson I learned. Yeah. To be persistent.

speaker-0: Persistence. I love that word. And you will be interested to know. When I was a young adult, I asked my dad, who is now passed on. He's in heaven now with my mother and my brother. But I asked him, I said, Dad, what is my my best, character trait? And he said, Brandy, I think your best character trait is your worst character trait. And that's your persistence. You are very persistent.

speaker-1: That's so funny. Yeah.

speaker-0: But persistence pays off. And in my framework, the hope framework, I talk about habits, I talk about optimistic outlook or mindset. I talk about purpose, passion, and perseverance. And that's a little bit of what we're talking about here, Karen. But I'm curious when you think back about your persistence, your passions, where did that come from? Where did that drive to help the homeless come from?

speaker-1: I think it was heaven sent. I could say some traits were traits that my father had because he was very, very persistent. I wouldn't say he kind, but there wasn't a charitable arm there, don't think. But my mother was voted the most generous her junior year high school. And ⁓ so I think I got qualities from both. But the persistence probably came from my father. Mm-hmm. He was very persistent in a lot of things, good and bad.

speaker-0: And in talking with leaders today, I hear that some of our kids in our schools, they're they're lacking resilience. They're lacking that grit and that persistence that we need in in life. And so when you think about the issues, ⁓ instance, I know you had an accident years ago. And your I'm sure, has helped you to overcome the adversity. that you faced in that accident. Tell us a little bit about the accident that you had.

speaker-1: Mm-hmm. after I retired ⁓ from Family in 2016, I was looking forward traveling, spending time with family and friends. And I remembered distinctly that it was one sunny day and I was lying a pool waiting for I was at a hotel. waiting for my cryotherapy appointment. Do you know what cryotherapy is?

speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah. But why don't you ⁓ share a little bit for the listeners.

speaker-1: Right, right. it's extremely s cold temperatures, it's supposed to energize you. Not that I I was known for needing energy because I was highly energetic, but for one reason or another, I had about thirty sessions of cryotherapy both in my town where I lived in New Jersey, and also in Miami Beach and This particular day was just dreaming by the side of the pool about my life, how good it was, how happy I was, and how I've kind of arrived at this plateau where I could just rest and take in everything I was at And then I had the appointment and I went to the front desk and they said. You have a new She's only had four weeks of experience, but we see that she's doing very well. And so I said, well, that that's okay. I had done it about 30 times between Miami Beach and Summit. But when she put me in the chamber, I immediately felt very, very cold. colder than I ever imagined. But that was only for a brief moment. And then I seemed to have blanked out. she she said I kept saying, I'm cold, I'm cold, I'm so cold. So she came around the and opened it. But rather than standing in front of it to help me out, she was behind the door, which meant she couldn't help me. And evidently I I I was unaware, but I fell out like a popsicle and hit my head on a raised ledge I was bleeding and I was in pain in my head, but I I the presence to ask for a phone and I called my two sons and I told them what happened. So they came down right away. since that accident, that was seven years ago. I can now walk with a platform walker. It's a therapy tool. And I can paint, see some of my pictures ⁓ my accident there on the wall. But I can now paint with my non-dominant hand, which is really quite quite something. So it's a little more impressionistic ⁓ I would like. But something that I really enjoy. So my recovery also has brought me some hidden gifts. I feel I can now have an extended family with wonderful aides who really care about me. And Jen, my assistant, who helps me with all kinds of things. proposals, minutes of meetings. She's very, very creative. So I really have this very loving, comforting family. And I enjoy that. It's healthy. Yeah. So there's that silver lining of this family that I have. And so that that's been that's been a blessing. So there are more blessings really than I mean, I'm not saying when can I walk? When can I walk? I'm walking now in my mind. I'm doing everything I did before. It's just with a little more hindrance because I have to be in a chair, but I can overcome that ⁓ know, rejoice in all that's been ⁓ to me. So I feel quite happy really. I never even cried after that. I mean I haven't I haven't cried in eight years or something. That sounds like a funny statement, but it's just a reflection of content I am. And I like I just came back from a task force meeting on the homeless in my town. And I participate in that. So I'm still, you know, very, very involved. And I wrote a book.

speaker-0: Mm. Have that book up right.

speaker-1: meant ⁓ meant for more following your heart and finding your purpose. And that's I believe is key. I mean there are many people that hate their jobs but they go on working and I gotta believe that that's gotta be bad for your health. I'm following my heart. I'm lucky to be able to be in a position to do that because I don't make a lot of money. But

speaker-0: Yes.

speaker-1: I'm able to do that and it makes such a difference in in my life. Hopefully in others.

speaker-0: Absolutely. you are so accomplished. You've you've done a lot of wonderful things throughout your life. CEO of Family Promise, you're an author, you're an artist, you're a speaker. I've started reading your and I have to believe that what has given you so much fuel to accomplish so many ⁓ big goals, some big dreams in your life. Is that power of positive thinking? ⁓ you wallow ⁓ in adversity, but you really look at adversity as somewhat of a blessing. It has given you things that you wouldn't otherwise have. And instead of looking at everything that is wrong with the world, you're looking at the positive side of that same coin.

speaker-1: Yes.

speaker-0: you know, your book is a testament to that, just the the title meant for more, following your heart and finding your purpose.

speaker-1: Beautiful. Very true. We have many, many volunteers that are involved and they may have corporate jobs or I'm not sure what kind of jobs they have, but they come to Family Promise because they want to give and not not receive, but they find that they receive more than they they give because they have the gift of service, know, with one volunteer. ⁓ I remember his name, Pace. He was ⁓ an engineer Minneapolis and he said I only have time for three things in my life church, work, and family. ⁓ don't ask me to do anything else. And it seems that ⁓ this one ⁓ it was being given a a party Or many people came up and spoke about pace because he was leaving one department at Sandia National Labs to go to another. And he said, ⁓ all these scientists got up and talked and went on and on. But I only remember one person, that was Alice. She ⁓ in our department and she was part of the support. system and she said she recounted that one night or snowy night it was actually her car broke down and she stood at the side of the road and she watched cars and cars pass her by. She had a flat tire and then ⁓ she didn't know what she going do. And then finally this car pulled up And nonchalantly said, Do you need help? and she said yes. And so Pace went about changing her tire fairly quickly, and then she was ⁓ on way. And what she was struck with is that made such a difference right there at that time. And so Pace he didn't remember any testimony that evening. Except testimony where she talked about being by pace. And you that something he did, he gave with his heart. Yeah. And ⁓ it meant so much. And then he got more involved and he became a volunteer, and then he became the coordinator for Family Promise at at his church, and then he became more involved. He was kept that heart kept tugging at him. And he had families over to use the zip line he had in his backyard. ⁓ it was a way for them to, you know, overcome their fears. And then he helped with resume writing and interview skills. And, you know, he just there was no limit to what he wanted to do or could do. Yeah. And that was all because he opened his heart and then at the end he said, You know, Family Promise gave me an extended heart or gave me heart because he was led down a different road.

speaker-0: we can all choose to be kind. That is a simple thing that we can all choose to do. And I believe that we all have our own unique strengths, our own gifts. And greatest that we can do for the world is to give those gifts away.

speaker-1: I agree. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

speaker-0: And that's really what you did, Karen, whenever you decided to start Family Promise. And would imagine that sometimes ⁓ when were starting that company, things felt overwhelming. ⁓ doubt might have crept in. is there ⁓ practices or or strategies that you could give the listeners? If they're in a season where doubt is creeping in and they're feeling overwhelmed, some strategies that are practical that they could implement in their life.

speaker-1: Yeah. ⁓ thing is to just to hang on. For instance, I had so many naysayers that didn't want family promise to happen that there were such blockades and even the people on my board were some of them didn't want to build a family promise. ⁓ so I would leave the meeting and I would cry on my way home, but they never saw me cry. But I just hung hung on. And I guess I did that because I so believed in helping families. And I got to know families who were homeless. would look at ⁓ one homeless family, Lucille her children. You know, she she just was in real, real need. And that touching that. feeling of her being in such need allowed me to So you know keep in mind what you want to accomplish and ⁓ open heart and be and and be good to as well.

speaker-0: Yeah, and and we do, we have to surround ourselves with people that are gonna help us to be the best version of ourselves. Now you wrote your book in 2024, and I'm gonna read an excerpt from your book, and ⁓ I wanna ask you where you are in this process. So it says in here that family promise today serves more than a hundred and eighty thousand men, women, and children a year. and has a strategic plan to help a million children by twenty thirty. Where is family promise in their goal towards serving over a million children?

speaker-1: Well, today we've served ⁓ more than a million men, women and children. ⁓ it's beautiful to see so many hands and hearts involved in this work. And I say hearts because they come with their hearts first ⁓ then their hands follow where they ⁓ provide skills for our guests and and other other things. It's a beautiful community. You know, when I started Family Promise, I thought I needed a building and there was so much resistance. Nobody wanted a shelter in their backyard. then I said, Well, wait a minute. And not one church could be a full-time shelter. They said, How about if we take turns and share the responsibility? So 12 congregations initially came forward. And they provided shelter in their buildings w ⁓ once a quarter. That was something they could do. So and then many volunteers got involved. And ⁓ that's heart of the program. And so I realized God didn't so much want me to find a building as He wanted me to build community. Yeah. And ⁓ that's really the key. So I kind of fell into this. And it was like one step after another. I didn't have a grand plan. I had passion. But yes, after a while I did. I I planned. I had steps I needed to take. Yeah. And so I'd like to say that you need three things to create something of value. You need of ⁓ passion drive whatever it is that you're doing. ⁓ passion from the heart. And then you need a plan because has to be directed. then you you need to be persistent because it's not gonna be it's not gonna be easy. But if that passion at the other end is strong enough, God will work with you and things will unfold. It certainly did with me. Yeah. So surprises. ⁓ People coming from and I said, One time I said to myself, God, why me? was just a simple answer, because you care.

speaker-0: That's beautiful.

speaker-1: Yeah,

speaker-0: It starts with the heart. It starts with the heart.

speaker-1: It does. It does. So I would say to anyone listening to this who has big goals in mind, just take it a step at a time. know it's not going to be a straightforward path, maybe a a zagged line, but you'll do it if you keep your faith ⁓ your vision. Absolutely. Move forward one step at a time.

speaker-0: Start with the heart, with that passion. Build plan and be persistent. And anything is possible with God's help. I think about the story in the Bible that it talks about Christ is the head and the body is the church, community. We all have gifts, we all have talents. And if we can use our gifts and our talents to help one another. Anything is possible. And I think that idea of building community is so incredibly beautiful and it is so incredibly needed in our society today. People are lonely, people are hurting, and they're looking for hope. A lot of people looking for hope in all the wrong places. But if we can build a community to support and to lift each other up, like you did with Family Promise, think we're ⁓ by little. with tiny acts of kindness along the way, making the world a better place.

speaker-1: Yeah. I definitely believe that passion ⁓ I mean ⁓ passion is alive and well volunteering is alive and well. ⁓ do want to make a difference. Yeah.

speaker-0: Absolutely. So Karen, as we wrap up this interview, I always love to ask my guest one final question. right what is giving you hope?

speaker-1: The fact that people are good at heart, basically good no matter what you see on television in the news. want to make a difference. So I in ⁓ the that's in people's heart and how that can be manifested into work that helps people.

speaker-0: At the core of humanity, there is so much that So we've got to focus on that. And we got to help to bring that out in each other. ⁓ and I I think we can do that through acts of kindness. ⁓ I have released a book called Spreading Sunshine with Kindness. It's a little story that was inspired by my two grandsons, Jensen and Rhett. it talks about little acts of kindness that they do along the way, starting at Nana and Pa's house, and then going into the school, and they decide sometimes kindness sacrifice. But when we put others before ourselves and we choose to be kind even whenever it does require a sacrifice.

speaker-1: Well

speaker-0: It helps us to feel better and it helps that other person as well. So it's a very beautiful thing.

speaker-1: Well I love what you started with grandma and grandpa. Yeah. It's beautiful. And kids at that early age too. You know, that's something they carry with them.

speaker-0: And it's it's a it's a passion project of mine because it involves some of my favorite people, which are Jensen and Rhett, my first two grandsons. So right that's what's giving me hope. I want to also give the listeners an opportunity if they want to learn more about Family Promise or they want to maybe learn about how they can contribute to the mission that you have started, where can they get into touch with you?

speaker-1: Yes, ⁓ at familypromise dot org also at ⁓ Olson or Author.com. ⁓

speaker-0: Okay. And I will link that in the show notes. But Karen, this has been such a pleasure getting to know you a little bit, hearing about your work and your mission, and most of all, learning about your heart, your heart for caring for other people, for kindness, and for helping people that are less fortunate than you and I. So thank you for your for your time, for your service, and for your heart.

speaker-1: Pleasure being with you and having the opportunity to talk with your listeners. Thank you, Brandy.