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The William J. Olson history of helping those in need began as a child at the Shrine Hospital for Crippled Children at the age of 5 years. As the result of the good care given him by the Shriners, he has felt the need to help others, which has become a life time of dedication to the assistance of others in need.
William J. Olson was born July 24, 1958 to Stanley & Ravina Olson at Dryden General Hospital in Ontario. As an infant Bill developed an allergy to milk. His parents made continuous trips to doctors for a polio vaccination. Each time the doctor deferred giving the vaccination, saying Bill simply had a cold. His parents disputed the doctors as they felt he did not have a cold. As a result, Bill did not receive the polio vaccination.
He contracted polio in 1960 at the age of 15 months, which marked the beginning of his struggle. If not for the Shrine Hospital in Winnipeg (which has since closed), Bill would not be able to sit up or to use his crutches today, and be as mobile as he is.
This is where Bill's volunteering began. As a preschooler, Bill was getting around in his wheelchair, helping & encouraging others his own age. When Bill reached the age of five his family relocated to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to find suitable schooling for Bill.
In Saskatoon, Bill faced a new challenge. The school system wanted to send Bill to a "Rehab" school when Bill and his family wanted him to attend a regular school and live as normal a childhood as possible.
In the mid-60's, Bill's mother developed Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and ended up using a wheelchair herself, thus enabling her to understand what Bill was going through. Bill took on a caregiver role with his mother, as her MS progressed, which lasted until she passed away November 26, 1970. That same year, at the age of 12, Bill underwent surgery to repair the curve in his spine, brought on by scoliosis. In 1980, Bill's father was diagnosed with emphysema and became very ill. Again, true to his character, Bill did everything he could to care for his father.
From the time Bill was two until he was sixteen he continued his long term visits to the Shrine Hospital in Winnipeg for numerous surgeries. In his lifetime, Bill has undergone 63 surgeries.
Since an early age, Bill had always been volunteering his time, skills, drive and resources to assist individuals in need. Founding his non-profit advocacy agency to assist others was the next natural step for Bill, after 20 years of funding it himself.
In 1999, Bill pulled together a group of disabled and able bodied individuals and officially formed the William J. Olson Advocacy Corporation. Bill is now passing on the skills he has learned over a lifetime to train new advocates, assist more people, and develop further resources, all with the aim of assisting and empowering individuals.
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