Shownotes
Partner with work of CareImpact and Journey With Care!
Description
What truly happens when dreams and values align in philanthropy? Join hosts Johan Heinrichs and Wendi Park as they delve into a heartfelt conversation with Doris Olafsen, a seasoned coach and connector in the world of relational philanthropy. Doris shares her rich experiences in fostering collaboration between churches and community agencies, highlighting transformative moments from her work with CareImpact and the inspiring story behind her initiative, Do Philanthropy. Emphasizing the importance of authenticity, trust, and genuine relational connections, Doris and Wendi explore how dreaming can lead to impactful community change. Dive into discussions on engaging donors as whole persons, the significance of building relationships rather than transactions, and the power of shared dreams to drive philanthropic success. This thought-provoking dialogue encapsulates what it means to bring together hearts and resources for the greater good.
Time Stamps
[00:00] Introducing this episode with Johan
[04:11] Doris helped amplify Care Impact’s mission successfully.
[09:01] Community support transforms lives, fostering potential.
[11:10] True wealth isn't just financial; it's community.
[14:28] Passionate clients inspire and energize my work.
[18:33] Be you, persist, kingdom work has abundance.
[20:23] Donors value authenticity and connection, not transactions.
[24:31] Helping dreams, God's kingdom, and collaborators thrive.
[28:30] Dreaming is in my DNA, transforming lives.
[32:09] Big dreams for others; inspired by legacy.
Guest Links
Do Philanthropy: https://www.dophilanthropyinc.ca/
Other Links
Reach out to us! https://journeywithcare.ca/podcast
Email: podcast@careimpact.ca
CareImpact: careimpact.ca
About the CarePortal: careimpact.ca/careportal
DONATE! Help connect and equip more churches across Canada to effectively journey well in community with the most vulnerable: careimpact.ca/donate
Editing and production by Johan Heinrichs: arkpodcasts.ca
Transcripts
Hey there. Johan here. Welcome back to Journey with Care. I'm so glad that you're
Speaker:here as we continue our replay series as we await the anticipated
Speaker:season 4 coming in February. Today, we're bringing
Speaker:back a a standout conversation from season 2 episode 3, where
Speaker:Wendy sat down with Doris Olafson. This episode struck a chord with
Speaker:many of our listeners when it first aired, and we got some amazing feedback on
Speaker:it. So whether it's your first time listening or your second, we think it's
Speaker:worth revisiting. Dora shared some of her incredible journey from growing up
Speaker:in poverty to becoming a coach, a connector that helps leaders
Speaker:realize their dreams. She and Wendy explore the idea of relational
Speaker:philanthropy, how giving can go beyond financial contributions. They
Speaker:talked about the multifaceted nature of poverty, the importance of
Speaker:whole person giving, and how real relationships can transform both
Speaker:donors and the cause that they support. There's so much
Speaker:wisdom here. It's an inspiring conversation full of practical insights and
Speaker:big picture hope. So let's dive right into this conversation with
Speaker:Wendy and Doris.
Speaker:Welcome to the Journey with Care podcast. I am so excited to
Speaker:introduce to you somebody very special to me here
Speaker:in Langley, BC. We have Doris
Speaker:Olofson. Welcome to the podcast. So much fun to be
Speaker:here in person with you. It is. We have gone to know each other over
Speaker:Zoom. Right? And we've become I feel that we've become good
Speaker:friends because I'm like, oh, I just need more Doris in my life. Everybody needs
Speaker:more Doris. So I was here in BC, and I'm thinking, oh, I have to
Speaker:introduce you. Well, I just love that we could actually be
Speaker:face to face because you have so much energy in life, and it's just
Speaker:every time I talk to you, it's a joy, but to actually meet few minutes
Speaker:ago, we hugged for the first time, but we've, grown close over
Speaker:the last few months. You have been very
Speaker:helpful for me and for Care Impact, but can
Speaker:you tell us a little bit about yourself and what is it
Speaker:that you do? Wow. That's a really great question. I
Speaker:think I've had a lot of titles over the
Speaker:years about what I do, but I think what I do is
Speaker:I help people unlock
Speaker:that dream or that vision that's in their heart, and I help
Speaker:them find a way for that to come true. So I'm kind of I've been
Speaker:called a matchmaker. I've been called a coach when
Speaker:that wasn't my official title. My team gave me the title
Speaker:coach. And, basically, I love to see
Speaker:the reality of funds needed for visions realized.
Speaker:And in the scriptures, there's a story, and if you
Speaker:ask me who do I relate to most in scriptures, there's a story
Speaker:about this little boy that was sent. He brought this
Speaker:5 fishes and 2 loaves, and, but what
Speaker:about the guy that introduced the little boy? So his
Speaker:story doesn't often get told, and it's just a skinny
Speaker:little story in the scriptures, but it changed everything. It was a game
Speaker:changer. Go find lunch. Go find lunch.
Speaker:And Andrew went and found this little boy. Well,
Speaker:he's got something to give, and so the master asked for
Speaker:something. They went and found the resources, and
Speaker:Andrew introduced them. And then what happened? We know
Speaker:the story. The beauty of the story was that that
Speaker:connection changed everything in that moment, not
Speaker:just for the people that were fed, but for the people that were part of
Speaker:that, making that connection happen, and for the
Speaker:disciples. And everybody that was there, they were a witness to what
Speaker:a connection does, so I'm a connector, and I love to be
Speaker:that introducer. So I love to work with philanthropists,
Speaker:and I love to work with charities. And I've been
Speaker:involved in fundraising, development, advancement,
Speaker:philanthropy, whatever name you wanna put on it, for the last 25
Speaker:years, and I've had the joy of watching
Speaker:charities succeed because they
Speaker:have helped a donor's dream come true.
Speaker:No. That's beautiful, and that's what I've experienced coming to
Speaker:you. And, somebody, a friend, a mutual friend
Speaker:connected me and said, you need to talk to Doris because
Speaker:I knew that Care Impact was onto something,
Speaker:and I knew what we were developing was something new and needed
Speaker:across Canada. Research was showing that God was revealing that to
Speaker:us, but there was something missing that I I just, like, how do
Speaker:we get those loaves and fishes to the people? There
Speaker:I need some help here, and you were that person for us. And
Speaker:and it was so it is so helpful. You finished
Speaker:you helped me finish a project recently, a case for support, and it
Speaker:became so much more. It really helped articulate my why.
Speaker:And but tell me, like, so many times in ministry,
Speaker:we think of, well, how many children do we serve? How
Speaker:many bowls of soup? How many projects have we
Speaker:worked on, and that direct in person help
Speaker:with the most vulnerable. Now what I
Speaker:appreciate about you, you you see philanthropy. You live philanthropy
Speaker:like that is ministry because it is ministry.
Speaker:Can you help give us that perspective of how you
Speaker:see philanthropy and fundraising, not just as a
Speaker:necessary means to an end, but that in itself is
Speaker:ministry. Can you talk to that a bit? So there's
Speaker:2 ways of of coming at this conversation. I wanna
Speaker:come at it from the the funder side.
Speaker:The reality is we've seen the ads. It's in us to give.
Speaker:We were created to give. We're created to live in community. There's
Speaker:something that God has placed in us that makes
Speaker:us want to pay it forward or give back. Like, it
Speaker:there is something to that. But the adage about
Speaker:fundraising, like begging for money or donors
Speaker:being overwhelmed by requests coming their way, there's a
Speaker:way to actually engage with a donor in a
Speaker:place where they are living, and it's where
Speaker:their heart is, it's where their values are, it's what aligns
Speaker:with them and who they are and why they've been created,
Speaker:that the giving part, whether it's giving a
Speaker:$100, a $1,000, 10,000, a 100,000, or
Speaker:a $1,000,000, it goes to who they are as
Speaker:a person and what's important to them. For me, it's always been
Speaker:important to know the person on that side of the table, to
Speaker:really get to know the donor's heart. Right.
Speaker:Then it's more than just underwriting and and writing out a
Speaker:check so somebody else can go do work. There really that becomes partnership.
Speaker:That's right. When you know and I've been accused of this. I've worked for a
Speaker:number of charities, a couple of charities that, you know, if you know me, you'll
Speaker:know where I've worked over the years, but, and I've
Speaker:been known to tell donors this isn't the right charity for you to be involved
Speaker:in. And that's just speaks to
Speaker:the ethical approach that you have to have when you're talking to
Speaker:somebody about why they would want to give their money to
Speaker:something. It's meaningful, but it might not be right for them. It
Speaker:might not align with who they are, what's important to them, and where they want
Speaker:to make a difference. So it's understanding
Speaker:the donor, understanding the charity Mhmm. And knowing what the
Speaker:charity is doing, that they have credibility, that they have
Speaker:integrity, that they are about transformation, and they aren't
Speaker:transactional. That's where you get into the the numbers game. Right.
Speaker:So impact is super important. Outcomes are super
Speaker:important. But at the end of the day, transformation on both sides of
Speaker:the table is super important. And I think I've used the word
Speaker:super a lot here, but I mean, it's really important that
Speaker:it's not transactional, that it's transformational, and that it's
Speaker:ongoing. It's sort of that that loop of
Speaker:engaging with donors that can engage with charities,
Speaker:and then the charities are engaging with the donors. And it's like
Speaker:the humanity coming together and building a bridge and
Speaker:people working together to solve a common problem or
Speaker:make an initiative happen or underwrite a
Speaker:vision or a project that is impossible
Speaker:without both parties being involved. So Right. So I grew
Speaker:up in poverty. I am the daughter of a single
Speaker:mom. She had 3 kids back in the day. There was not any social
Speaker:assistance or so I know what it's like to live in
Speaker:poverty in Canada. I totally understand what it's like to be the
Speaker:9 year old girl wearing rubber boots with plastic bags on my
Speaker:feet in 40 below weather in Prince George,
Speaker:BC. Wow. And to have a 2 week old baby that I
Speaker:have to brother that I have to pick up after school and take home and
Speaker:get dinner made. So I understand what it's like to not
Speaker:have what I need, but I also understand
Speaker:what it meant to have community come into my
Speaker:mom's life and make all the difference as we
Speaker:were growing up. In that community, it was teeny tiny. We had
Speaker:no faith orientation at that time as a family, but this
Speaker:teeny tiny community came alongside my mom
Speaker:and helped her help us, and it was the community that she went to
Speaker:work with every day. So I understand what it is to have somebody
Speaker:believe in you and invest in you and help you
Speaker:see your potential as a person, and I was
Speaker:never treated as a charity case. I was always
Speaker:treated with integrity and respect that there's something in
Speaker:me that makes me want to help
Speaker:other boys and girls' families organizations
Speaker:that have a need that they can't meet. Yeah. And that's
Speaker:that's really interesting. And coming from a place of
Speaker:understanding as a child, you learned early on
Speaker:we need to need others. Yeah. And I think there's
Speaker:something very profound about that that maybe
Speaker:in a family that has everything or an organization or a church
Speaker:that has, we quickly
Speaker:lose that need for each other and
Speaker:that need for community. And one thing that I I learned,
Speaker:through you and and others around me is that
Speaker:me asking a potential donor to get
Speaker:involved is actually a sign of
Speaker:humility of just saying we need to work together, but
Speaker:knowing also that they need to be part of community
Speaker:too. There's a relational poverty on everybody's side. And so
Speaker:would you say that fundraising and philanthropy,
Speaker:doing fundraising is really an act of
Speaker:community development in some ways? So I was talking
Speaker:about that little girl that grew up in poverty, but then, you
Speaker:know, the Lord has opened doors, and I have walked with some of the
Speaker:wealthiest people in Canada. I have had the privilege of being
Speaker:and the pleasure of being in their company, but I've also been with some of
Speaker:the poorest people on the planet. And I've realized there's
Speaker:poverty looks different everywhere because some of those
Speaker:wealthy families are living in so much poverty. They might
Speaker:not have financial poverty, but they don't have community, or they don't have family,
Speaker:or they don't have fellowship, or they don't have meaning.
Speaker:And people with economic poverty, they quite
Speaker:often have other forms of wealth that
Speaker:people that have financial wealth are missing.
Speaker:So for me, somebody actually
Speaker:said it's so pastoral to be in the work Mhmm.
Speaker:Where you are bringing people together where a fullness
Speaker:is this this sense of fullness coming together in community
Speaker:for the fullness of the vision being realized on both
Speaker:sides, so not just on, you know, I'm I'm very
Speaker:anti, hero or, you know, there's
Speaker:phrases out there, white savior, all that. Like, that is totally
Speaker:not my domain, but I'm also not on the slick
Speaker:and marketed and bag lady on the is this gotta
Speaker:be authentic. It's gotta be real. It's gotta be real on both
Speaker:sides. It's gotta be real for the donor. It's gotta be real for the charity.
Speaker:Authenticity comes to the to the forefront
Speaker:of everything. If it's not there, it's pretty soon revealed.
Speaker:Yeah. For me, my greatest joy in life is working with people
Speaker:like you or working with a
Speaker:philanthropist who finds his way. Like, I've been dreaming about
Speaker:doing something like this for my whole life or working with a a
Speaker:fundraiser development person and helping
Speaker:them have the courage to just, you have
Speaker:something incredible to share. Like, don't be afraid. Well,
Speaker:you you have been so encouraging. Every time I
Speaker:come off on a high when we have our sessions, and and you've
Speaker:been coaching me for a few months now. And every time I come off on
Speaker:such a high and it it comes across, and I I do believe it
Speaker:is, in a very genuine space that you are an encourager. Wow. And you're
Speaker:you really coach and, like like, you can do this, Wendy. You know?
Speaker:And and we're gonna help you get there. Yes. That is possible. That is
Speaker:such a ministry to ministry leaders that we
Speaker:also need people to coach. And and I'm a big believer is
Speaker:find people that are smarter than you, wiser than you, that
Speaker:that have gone ahead of us and and can lead the way. And so
Speaker:I've really found for Care Impact that you've caught our
Speaker:vision, but then you've helped us and you've challenged me
Speaker:with it. And how do we get that communicated? What would you say
Speaker:to other, ministry leaders that are sort
Speaker:of feeling stuck, maybe feeling stuck like I was? Let's
Speaker:go back to that first conversation. I'm like, what do I do? Right? What
Speaker:would you tell them, people that are wanting to do ministry, but those
Speaker:budget lines just aren't moving, and those bake sales just aren't bringing
Speaker:in what they need? Yeah. Can I just before I say
Speaker:something to speak to that, I just wanna go back to that first
Speaker:meeting and when I met you, and I thought I've told people,
Speaker:she's a pistol? Like, this girl this girl, she
Speaker:is so passionate about her
Speaker:calling. And I can't believe a bit in it. But
Speaker:you know what? I can't encourage people that can't be encouraged.
Speaker:And when I met you, and I have other clients too right now that I'm
Speaker:working with, that I just love working with them because they give me
Speaker:life because they are so passionate about what they're doing. And
Speaker:for me, just helping you see
Speaker:you have a treasure. You're a gem, but you also have
Speaker:a treasure that people are looking for. And, you know,
Speaker:whether you're you 2 or something, they still haven't found what they're looking for. They
Speaker:haven't met you yet. They haven't met you yet. So I would say to
Speaker:those other organizations, the ones that are where
Speaker:the leaders are just they're exhausted or they're they're fundraising, you know, they're
Speaker:trying to do it by the book, or my husband always used to say to
Speaker:me, just be you. Just be you. Just go to work today and just
Speaker:be you. And, I mean, I started out doing this, not
Speaker:really knowing what I was doing, and then the Lord was just
Speaker:gracious and merciful and brought people in and who coached me and
Speaker:mentored me along the way. Most of them were donors, and they told me what
Speaker:not to do and what to do, and I'm so grateful. And some of them
Speaker:are still in my life Mhmm. Coaching me, but
Speaker:it's just be you. So to that charity
Speaker:leader, there was a reason you were called into this.
Speaker:There was a passion and a fire in your belly. If there
Speaker:wasn't, you might not be in the right place. Mhmm. But there
Speaker:was a reason you were called into this, and you have a message
Speaker:that people are waiting to hear, or you have, a
Speaker:mission that people have been looking for. And you just need to find
Speaker:those people, and they are there. The funders are there because they're looking for
Speaker:you too. So it's just be you
Speaker:and be true to the call that you have, and then get
Speaker:the skills. You you have the skills. You had all the
Speaker:tools. You just didn't know how to put them all together. Right. And it
Speaker:was beautiful watching
Speaker:my associate, Kim, and I, we talked about you after too. It was just
Speaker:so fun watching you wrestle through some of the hard
Speaker:questions we would ask, and you always knew the answers. You just
Speaker:hadn't you always knew the answers. You just didn't know how to put them or
Speaker:where to put them. So I would say to other charity leaders, you probably
Speaker:know. You just haven't maybe had the right questions asked of you
Speaker:or you haven't had some somebody that can direct you or just
Speaker:take this path or go down this way or what about this? And I
Speaker:think for all of us, sometimes when we hear our own voice, we think,
Speaker:oh, that's the answer. Yeah. And you just don't
Speaker:realize you knew it all along. Well, just being you, just
Speaker:as a simple example, I walk into Walmart, and I see a
Speaker:greeter. There's 2 kinds of greeters. 1 that is
Speaker:just so happy to see me, and I wanna just give them a hug
Speaker:because they're just a happy they're in the place to be. And then there's
Speaker:others. I'm like, dude, just be well on
Speaker:your way. Like, just cut these losses. Go find a job that
Speaker:you're passionate about. But I think we that's a very
Speaker:simple, facetious kind of example, but or
Speaker:McDonald's or any business owner.
Speaker:But in nonprofit or in Christian ministry, we have
Speaker:to find our sweet spot and be honest with that. I know for
Speaker:myself, there's a lot of things I'm not good at.
Speaker:But if I just put myself in the perspective, well, this is what a nonprofit
Speaker:should do and I'm gonna just suck it up and just be something inauthentic,
Speaker:I think I would be fairly miserable. And so, I
Speaker:really like that message. The other thing is it's pretty handy to
Speaker:be just you. It's easy. It's so authentic. It's so
Speaker:easy. It is. And if you're not afraid to be you, and I think
Speaker:that's, if you're not afraid to be you. I mean, that
Speaker:and being a fundraiser is not for the faint of heart because you're gonna get
Speaker:you might not get a ton of yeses until you figure
Speaker:out where you're going and how you're going. And even then, there may
Speaker:be people that say, no, that's not my that's not my thing. And that's
Speaker:okay because you're gonna get enough. You know, I'm working in Christian
Speaker:ministry, especially. There's more than enough in the kingdom. For a
Speaker:kingdom work, there is more than enough, and it just
Speaker:needs to be unleashed. Again, that's relational poverty, though, I see because
Speaker:there is more than enough, but people just need to know people and
Speaker:align, not just for their their checkbook, but really for those
Speaker:connections so that this philanthropist can be really passionate
Speaker:about education or really passionate about coffee beans or whatever it
Speaker:is. There's a place for everybody in the
Speaker:economy of God. Yeah. Absolutely. And, you know, it can be
Speaker:the $5 philanthropist or the $5,000
Speaker:philanthropist. It it philanthropist is such a lovely word because it's,
Speaker:it's about the whole person giving. You know, the
Speaker:definition of philanthropy is about a wholeness of giving. It's not
Speaker:just about money, right? So you're actually asking people to engage with
Speaker:their whole self, their whole life, and
Speaker:money is just one part of it. You're on a journey together, and
Speaker:that's where the meaningful place is. And that's why I'm really excited about
Speaker:for Care Impact because you're about relational equity
Speaker:Mhmm. At the table, but you're also about you wanna bring people in.
Speaker:This is gonna be a relational organization. So We always say everyone
Speaker:belongs is part of the the child welfare puzzle. Yeah. Like, every
Speaker:single person, maybe directly or indirectly,
Speaker:but they're all part of it. Mhmm. We're all part of it, but
Speaker:donors don't like to feel like ATM machines and that I first
Speaker:heard that, I think Mark Peterson was doing a workshop, but he
Speaker:said, don't ever treat a donor or a foundation or a
Speaker:business like an ATM machine. And you know what? The people know
Speaker:that the minute they, that's for the authenticity.
Speaker:But if you're passionate about what you've been called to do, the mission that
Speaker:you're on, the mandate that you have, and you've done your homework and your
Speaker:due diligence and you have a plan and you're prepared,
Speaker:there are people waiting for you to share that story with them,
Speaker:and people will want to introduce you to other people that they
Speaker:know. It's that whole connecting. Most of the
Speaker:relationships I have are a result of somebody
Speaker:introduced me to somebody that they know. Like, their
Speaker:trust Yeah. Was part of the you know, that's
Speaker:the equitable currency, I think, in this
Speaker:work called fundraising at its core. It's if you
Speaker:can't be trusted, you know, you're not I'm not gonna introduce you to
Speaker:my friends or my neighbors or my family. But when
Speaker:you gain trust, I mean, that that changes
Speaker:everything. And then the other thing to remember is when people
Speaker:give you money, they're giving you part of their heart.
Speaker:Mhmm. And so you really have to be
Speaker:mindful that you have been entrusted with something that's very
Speaker:close to because they could give it in many ways. That's
Speaker:right. To many organizations or to many things
Speaker:and experiences that but they've chosen to give in this way,
Speaker:so that is part of their heart. And then there's an
Speaker:intimacy that comes with that, and then you'll probably get to know the the
Speaker:family. And and it's not just the money. They wanna volunteer their time,
Speaker:or they wanna introduce you to some of their colleagues at
Speaker:work or their employees, and then they start to open up their spheres of
Speaker:influence where they come and engage and they serve in your
Speaker:organization or they become advocates and spokespeople. It's
Speaker:not just about getting money. It's about engaging people
Speaker:for a whole life experience. So you really have
Speaker:to manage resources well
Speaker:and with integrity. And, you know, there have been times
Speaker:in in my life when I was actively fundraising
Speaker:for organization where a project would have failed.
Speaker:Well, rather than gloss over that or, you know, try
Speaker:to make it something that it wasn't, I've gone back to the funder and
Speaker:said, this failed. This project failed. What we had hoped would happen
Speaker:didn't happen. Well, when you tell the truth and
Speaker:when you tell the good and the bad, when things don't
Speaker:go well, you're taking your trust quotient up to the
Speaker:next level. Right? So relationship,
Speaker:transformation, trust, integrity, like, there's just you've got it
Speaker:all, Wendy. Like, I think I have I have a big dream for you, and
Speaker:I love dreaming dreams for other people. I'm a dreamer too, so this
Speaker:is dangerous here. I I traveled around the world
Speaker:with a lot of people, and I always would ask them in Latin America. I'd
Speaker:say, Kelly, so soeno, what is your dream? But I would ask the person
Speaker:we were meeting with in Latin America, but I'd also
Speaker:ask the person that we had taken. And Sure. Very often, the dreams
Speaker:were compatible. And there was a lot of,
Speaker:shared dreaming. And I have a big dream for Care
Speaker:Impact. I have a big dream for Du Philanthropy. God
Speaker:put Du Philanthropy in my heart during COVID,
Speaker:and I just thought, I want something good to come out of COVID. There was
Speaker:a lot of things that we all went through and different experiences that I
Speaker:had as a as a new widow. Yeah. And I thought,
Speaker:how will I spend the next season of my life? Yeah. Because you could have
Speaker:done anything and made this a segue. Let's let's I'm gonna go to the
Speaker:Caribbean, or I'm gonna just I don't have to work, but You don't have to
Speaker:work, but you chose to do philanthropy and serve
Speaker:people like myself. There must be an inner drive, a
Speaker:dream within you. Yeah. Because I love watching dreams come true,
Speaker:and I want to work with people and organizations
Speaker:that are hungry to see a dream come true or God has put
Speaker:a dream, a god sized dream in their heart, and they don't know how
Speaker:to get from where they are to where they wanna go. And so
Speaker:that's my dream for Du Philanthropy is that kingdom will
Speaker:move forward and that God will use myself and my
Speaker:associates. I have some incredible people that have said, I wanna be
Speaker:part of this. And so I have, Kim Parker, a
Speaker:writer, and Allison Chapman, who's just phenomenal,
Speaker:on the development side, and, Scott Fahrenbacher, who's now
Speaker:working with Habitat for Humanity. But all of them are my associates, and we
Speaker:work together and collaboratively on different projects, but we all have the
Speaker:same heart. Nice. We have a heart for God's kingdom to
Speaker:move forward. We have a heart to see charities succeed, and we have a
Speaker:heart for philanthropists to have their dreams come true too. So it's like
Speaker:shared values, shared heart. I don't know if I told you this, but the
Speaker:whole springboard for Care Impact led us to today.
Speaker:It started with my husband and I had a literal dream
Speaker:the same night we woke up from the same dream. It wrecked us in
Speaker:a good way. We were like, what do we do with this? We didn't know
Speaker:the full picture, and thank goodness we didn't because we would have been scared by
Speaker:it. We we would have disqualified ourselves so quickly. But
Speaker:it started with a dream, and we just put one foot in front of the
Speaker:other, and, this is where we we ended up.
Speaker:It's, and I can only imagine what God's going to do
Speaker:as you connect agencies and frontline workers
Speaker:with churches across our nation. God is
Speaker:waiting and wanting those 2 to work together more
Speaker:significantly. Before I came here today,
Speaker:I live in a strata with 28 units, and,
Speaker:we've been talking about doing something in the community. And in my church, we're
Speaker:encouraged to have an outward, it's called, and so
Speaker:to be constantly thinking outward. So our strata
Speaker:has we're committed to our local food bank. And so
Speaker:I I dropped off today. And so every month is a drop
Speaker:off at the local food bank for the we're only 28 units, and I
Speaker:when I unloaded my, vehicle before I got here, I
Speaker:was like, oh my goodness. Like, I only could think was this little
Speaker:community has, once again, is full of diapers and
Speaker:all these things that are so desperately needed, but they were
Speaker:just waiting to be asked to do something in the community.
Speaker:Now they're excited about what can we do for December. Like, every month, it's like,
Speaker:what can we do for this month? And I'm thinking, we should've been doing this
Speaker:for years. We'll have to get Langley onto Care portal because well, that's what we're
Speaker:finding, though. Like, we we have the Care portal that connects the
Speaker:needs in the community that are identified by social services and front lines
Speaker:With community, there's never a lack of resources. It blows
Speaker:me away the kinds of requests and their individual requests as unique as the
Speaker:child in the family situation. They come through and we're thinking, will this ever
Speaker:get met? But sure enough, there's somebody that's a plumber. There's somebody
Speaker:that loves to to bake. There's somebody that has this size of
Speaker:clothing or this car seat. There's always enough stuff. And
Speaker:what is beautiful is that there is an energy about that when we're
Speaker:connecting people within the community. There's always
Speaker:resources. Yeah. There's just a lack of connection. Yeah. That's a great
Speaker:example that you you just gave. So if we go back to that little 9
Speaker:year old girl in Prince George, and I used
Speaker:to sing this song in my bathroom with a brush. Why can't we
Speaker:be like storybook children is the the song, but I used to sing
Speaker:that. And I used to dream dreams about one
Speaker:day one day, I will live in a nice house, and one
Speaker:day, I will because I started dreaming when I
Speaker:was really little, but I didn't know I was dreaming. And then
Speaker:when I met my husband and we got married, the song that we
Speaker:danced to, our first dance was, dream. All you have to do
Speaker:is dream, dream, dream. So dreaming is part of
Speaker:my DNA, and I used to be that kid that teachers and
Speaker:parents would say, quit dreaming. As I age, I
Speaker:know it's totally okay to color outside the lines. It's
Speaker:totally okay to dream big dreams. And I have seen so many dreams
Speaker:come true for so many people, whether
Speaker:they're a charity or a family in need
Speaker:in my community or in another country, or it's a donor who's
Speaker:just doesn't know how or is too afraid to,
Speaker:or is nervous about getting involved or speaking to others
Speaker:about their giving. I've watched people's lives
Speaker:be transformed. I don't wanna spend the rest of my life helping
Speaker:dreams come true. As long as God gives me breath, I wanna be that
Speaker:person that said, Wendy, I
Speaker:know that Care Impact is gonna change Canada. Amen.
Speaker:Amen. The way the church engages. And
Speaker:one day, we will just all be looking back saying, well, we've
Speaker:always done it this way. But But it started with a dream. It started
Speaker:with a dream. And you know what? With every dream, there's an equal amount of
Speaker:need to get there, and and it seems like absolutely
Speaker:impossible. But I've told people other people asking how
Speaker:we're developing this and how do we get started. And and I said,
Speaker:you know what? One of the best gifts for us, starting off with a
Speaker:dream, but one of the best gifts for us was starting with $0. And
Speaker:I'm actually serious about that because if we had a $1,000,000
Speaker:in a bank account and somebody said, here you go, just go do good in
Speaker:the world. Go make your dream come true. I don't I think we
Speaker:woulda had a a rent sort of what everybody else is doing. We
Speaker:wouldn't have fought for what we were dreaming. We wouldn't have needed
Speaker:other people and invited people. We've gotten to know so many organizations, not
Speaker:because, hey. Look. We're your dream come true. We're saying, this is our
Speaker:dream. Can you envision this with us? Can we join together? And that
Speaker:with the philanthropists. And all of our donors out there, I'm just so
Speaker:grateful that you started to dream with us. You started to be
Speaker:part of our story, not our story, but our
Speaker:story, including you and I. And so it's no longer just the Harold and
Speaker:Wendy show. It is all the people that we've been able to connect
Speaker:with, the agencies and the the nonprofits and the
Speaker:philanthropists. We have started dreaming together. And I realized when
Speaker:God puts a dream in your heart, it's not just my dream
Speaker:to keep. If I let it out and I'm bold enough to
Speaker:just just put it out there on the table, This is what I say when
Speaker:I go into churches or into, social service sector. I don't
Speaker:have to sell them Kool Aid. I don't have to sell them that that's a
Speaker:good idea. Because inevitably, within those pews, there's people that already it
Speaker:awakens something they already have too. They're just figuring out their
Speaker:purpose and part of that. And so that is
Speaker:my my wish that we've got a long way to
Speaker:go. I'm still dreaming. I still feel like I'm just this far
Speaker:past the starting line. And we're gonna be continuously
Speaker:inviting people to dream with us, and this dream is bigger than what we can
Speaker:do. And that's why we partner with a lot of organizations too, because this dream
Speaker:is bigger than what we can accomplish on our own. You've been
Speaker:part of our dream, and you're making dreams come true. We
Speaker:know, like, in that whole adage about, you know, get your head out of the
Speaker:clouds, stop dreaming, if we didn't have those famous
Speaker:heroes of the faith that have gone before us, like, I have a
Speaker:dream. Yes. We all know. We don't even
Speaker:have to all we have to say is, I have a dream, and we know
Speaker:where that came from, and that dream changed our world that
Speaker:we live in today. So I can't say
Speaker:that for myself, but I do have big dreams for the people
Speaker:that God brings into my path. And I'm so grateful, Wendy,
Speaker:that Du Philanthropy gets to work with Carry
Speaker:Impact. And here's a really funny little sideline. I've always
Speaker:known my initials are d o. Like, I've
Speaker:always known that, but it was only during COVID
Speaker:that it hit me when I was praying and talking to my
Speaker:kids about, you know, what would I call this chair, this
Speaker:this coaching or consulting, whatever it is that I'm doing
Speaker:encouraging, what would I call this little enterprise? And
Speaker:so when we came up the name, you know, Doris Olofson Philanthropy,
Speaker:and my daughter son. I can't remember which one. Just said, well, why don't we
Speaker:just call it Du Philanthropy? And I thought,
Speaker:oh, Du Philanthropy, Inc. It works. When I told
Speaker:my lawyer, he goes, he just said when he was putting all the paperwork
Speaker:together, he just said, that totally makes sense. It's who you
Speaker:are. So my tagline is, let's do this.
Speaker:So let's do this, and I got that from you. Yeah. You you helped
Speaker:me, and you didn't even realize it sitting in your little Shasta trailer,
Speaker:And I read your blackboard, and we're on Zoom, and I thought We get to
Speaker:do this. And yours says we get to do this, and I just thought,
Speaker:let's do this. Like, and you're talking about your dreams, and I just thought, let's
Speaker:do this. So my tagline came from you, so I have to that to say
Speaker:That's awesome. Yeah. And we're gonna keep dreaming, and we're gonna keep
Speaker:inviting other people to dream with us. And as a result,
Speaker:dreams will come true for children and families, for girls
Speaker:in rubber boats with plastic bags on their her feet, and
Speaker:for so many others. And dreams will come true to churches that are
Speaker:tired right now, that are tired after a pandemic and wondering
Speaker:up from down and where are their congregations going, what is the way
Speaker:forward. It's gonna be dreams coming true for philanthropists that
Speaker:wanna make a difference, but just wanting to see where they can actually put
Speaker:value into the community. And
Speaker:everybody can be part of this dream. So thank you so much, Doris, for
Speaker:being part of this podcast and being part of my life.
Speaker:I'm already looking to the future. We're already strategizing for next
Speaker:year. I'm just so grateful to dream with
Speaker:you. Me too. Thank you, Wendy.
Speaker:Thank you for joining another conversation on Journey with Care,
Speaker:where we inspire curious Canadians on their path of faith
Speaker:and living life with purpose in community. Journey with Care is an
Speaker:initiative of Care Impact, a Canadian charity dedicated to
Speaker:connecting and equipping the whole church to journey well in community.
Speaker:You can visit their website at careimpact. Ca, or visit journey with
Speaker:care. Ca to get more information on weekly episodes, Journey
Speaker:with Prayer, and details about our upcoming events and meetups. You can also leave us
Speaker:a message, share your thoughts, and meetups. You can also leave us
Speaker:a message, share your thoughts, and connect with like minded individuals who
Speaker:are on their own journeys of faith and purpose. Thank you for sharing
Speaker:this podcast and helping these stories reach the community. Together, we can explore ways to
Speaker:journey in a good way. And always remember to explore ways to journey in a
Speaker:good way. And always remember to stay curious.
