Karen Olson
| Karen Olson | |
|---|---|
Karen Olson, 2013
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| Born | Norwalk, CT |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Founder and President Emeritus of Family Promise |
| Organization | Family Promise |
Karen Olson is an American philanthropist, Founder and President of Family Promise, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable independence and to redress the underlying causes of poverty and homelessness.
Olson was born in Norwalk, Connecticut. She was raised and attended public school in Darien, Connecticut. She attended Lasell College in Auburndale, Massachusetts, where she studied Business Administration.
After college, Olson spent seven years in marketing, the last three at Warner-Lambert (now Pfizer) in Morris Plains, New Jersey. As a marketing executive for Warner-Lambert, she developed promotional campaigns for consumer products such as Schick razors, Listermint mouthwash and Lubriderm lotion.
In 1982, an unexpected encounter with a homeless woman began an effort that has now touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of homeless and low-income families across the country. Rushing by Grand Central Station to a business meeting in 1982, Olson noticed a homeless woman she'd passed before. This time, she decided impulsively to buy a sandwich for the woman. When she gave it to her, the woman reached for Olson's hand and began a conversation.
For Olson, the conversation broke through a generalized conception of "the homeless" as she connected to the woman on a personal level. "I learned a little bit about her life, and a barrier was sort of broken. Up until that point, I had just thought you just don’t go near homeless people,” Olson said.
She and her two young sons began frequent trips to New York to hand out sandwiches to the homeless. “For a couple of years,” Olson said, “every other Sunday, we would go in armed with sandwiches and got to know [homeless] people by name.”
Olson learned that there were hundreds of homeless people, including families, in her home community of Union County, New Jersey. She turned to the religious community for help, convinced that there were many who shared her concern and that together they could do what they couldn't do alone. Since running a shelter requires extensive resources, a group of faith communities would share the task, rotating on a weekly basis to provide coverage throughout the year. Within ten months, eleven area congregations came forward to provide hospitality space within their buildings. The local YMCA agreed to provide showers and a day center for families. A car dealer discounted a van. On October 27, 1986, the first Interfaith Hospitality Network opened its doors. As word spread, ten more congregations formed a second Network. Programs for transitional housing, childcare, and financial literacy followed - outgrowths of increased awareness and involvement.
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