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Meet Steven Olson of Miracle League of Arizona in Scottsdale

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Olson.

Steven, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
On March 2nd, 2012 I held the hand of my wife and best friend, Sandra, as she took her last breath. When Sandra lost her short, six month battle to brain cancer, I knew at that moment that my world would forever change. I, honestly, never thought I’d find true happiness again.

At the time, I was living in San Jose, CA with my two teenage daughters, Madeline & Addison. We were still recovering from the tragic loss of my first wife and their biological mother, Erika, who passed away in 2009 from a car accident. Life was not how I had envisioned.

The three of us needed a new start and decided as a family to relocate to Tempe in June 2018. (While still in California, we also lost both my parents as well.) A few months after arriving in our new home, we found the Miracle League of Arizona. We started volunteering our time, helping individuals with special needs and disabilities get a chance to play baseball. What we didn’t know was by giving up a couple of hours of our time per week, we healed as a family and joined an amazing community in the process.

This Miracle League of Arizona in the perfect combination of my life’s passions: time with my daughters, baseball & helping others. I am so proud that my girls want to be active in the community and want to “give back” themselves. Both also talk about future careers involving helping kids.

After a year of being a volunteer, in November 2019, I accepted a full-time position at the Miracle League. My responsibilities now include community outreach and fundraising. I am part of an amazing team that supports the mission, “Everyone deserves the chance to play baseball.” I would like to personally invite anyone reading this out to a game at our Stadium. (I’ll even buy you a hot dog.)

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My heart goes out most to my daughters: Madeline (17) & Addison (15). They have lost their biological mom (Erika), stepmom (Sandra) and Grandma & Grandpa – who were far more involved in their daily lives than most Grandparents are. Through it all, they not only survived, but they have thrived.

My girls inspire me every day with their strength, courage and loving hearts. They took this unfair amount of grief and ALWAYS asked how they could help others. I feel like they carried me through this difficult period, My girls are the reason I was put on this earth and you will not find a more proud parent than me!

Please tell us about your organization.
The Miracle League of Arizona is a non-profit organization in North Scottsdale, dedicated to providing a safe, successful and enjoyable baseball experience for children, teens and adults with disabilities or special health care needs. We offer adaptive baseball, at an accessible stadium, removing the barriers that would normally keep individuals off the baseball field.

We play at a fully accessible baseball stadium, utilizing a rubberized turf for easy maneuverability of wheelchairs and other adaptive devices. We also have an adaptive playground, picnic area and batting cages which makes for a full day of fun at the ballpark. We do not charge a fee to be part of our program. Uniforms, equipment, registration, insurances, and all other costs are waived for our participants as we realize our parents already are burdened with significant medical costs, transportation issues, etc.

Our goal is for our players to have a safe, successful, and fun experience, at no cost!

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
It took a lot for me to get to this place in my life where I am happy again (even without my best friend, Sandra, by my side). I honestly never thought I’d reclaim my lost smile. Now, I find the greatest joy being “Homer” – the Miracle League’s mascot – who GETS the best hugs from everyone at our Stadium.

But what I am proudest of is when my alarm goes off at 6:30 am on a Saturday, so that I can get the ballpark, both my teenage daughters are already up. Think about that. Two teenage daughters up early on a weekend so that they can spend over eight hours helping others.

It was at the Miracle League where my family finally healed. The Miracle League filled the hole that was in my heart caused by the loss of several loved ones.

Now I get to help spread the word about this amazing organization daily. I get to help raise money to help grow our programming. But lastly (and most personally) I get to promote volunteer efforts at our Stadium.

So my advice to anyone in pain, depression, sadness and/or grief as someone (who has been there far too long) is to give whatever you can to other people. Volunteer your time, even when you don’t think you have anything to offer.

Know there are individuals worse off than you. Find them. Help them. For when you give of yourself and help others, you don’t have time to think of your problems. You’ll soon see that it is through those selfless acts that you are the one who is getting the greatest payback.

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Image Credit:
Drew Soicher

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