Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:23:00 AM
Both Hands holds up widows and children
Nonprofit completes 100th home repair, hits $1M milestone
It has been a season of milestones for J.T. Olson and Both Hands Foundation, the charitable organization he founded three years ago.
Olson uses pledge drives to help families offset the costs of adoption, and this summer Both Hands reached the $1 million mark in total donations. But rather than get pledges through walk-a-thons, fun runs or golf tournaments, Olson helps organize home repair projects for widows. This past weekend, in Smyrna, Both Hands started work on its 100th such project.
“I want to make a difference,” said Olson, a Brentwood resident. “This is Hotel Earth — we get one shot. I think Both Hands is helping me accomplish that.”
The idea for Both Hands comes, in part, from a rejection Olson once received. He was participating in a golf tournament for charity and asking for sponsors. In one envelope, Olson found a short note instead of a check. The writer told him that a golf outing isn’t a strong enough commitment and that if Olson were, say, helping widows he’d be looking at a donation.
That message stuck in Olson’s mind for roughly five years until 2007, when a friend said he was struggling to pay for an international adoption. In that moment, Olson said, he thought of Bible verses on the importance of caring for orphans and widows.
Shortly after starting Both Hands in 2008, Olson left a 10-year career as a corporate headhunter. In 2009 he began working with Lifesong for Orphans, a Christian-based agency in Illinois that provides services to orphans around the world. Lifesong handles many of the administrative tasks that Olson doesn’t have the staffing to manage, and it encourages every applicant to participate in a Both Hands project.
Blend is a natural
Andy Lehman, vice president of Lifesong, said his company is interested strictly in improving the quality of life for orphans. His office doesn’t take a dime for helping Both Hands.
“It’s just a great blending of orphan care and widow care and it felt so right,” Lehman said of the partnership. “It really aligned with our core of removing the financial barrier to adoption.”
With Lifesong’s help, Olson has coordinated projects in 30 states across the U.S.
In Smyrna, on Saturday, Jason Stewart and his wife, Kelly, led a crew of about 40 volunteers in repairing the home of Lillian Ellis, a widow who has lived there for decades. New flooring, paint and cabinets and some landscaping around the home made for a long to-do list, but Stewart said it’s an amazing opportunity. He and his wife are adopting a child from Ethiopia and hope to raise about $10,000 for their cause, which is the average raised through Both Hands projects.
Meanwhile, Ellis’ home will see some needed work. Everyone to whom he explains the Both Hands concept marvels at the idea, Stewart said.
“I’ve been so incredibly impressed with J.T. as a man and as a leader,” Stewart said.
Growth is ambitious
Olson recently hired his first full-time employee, Aimee Hawtrey, and hopes to complete at least 80 home-repair projects next year. If Both Hands continues to grow as it has, he said, it’s possible in the next couple years to help adopting families raise $1 million annually. All of that money would go straight into the pockets of hopeful parents, said Olson, as is currently the case. To cover his own costs, Olson organizes separate fundraisers in which a larger donor matches the amount raised by a family.
“I have never been so happy every day of my life as far as my job goes,” Olson said. “My favorite part of a project is getting to talk to a family, and then when it’s over I get a picture of a baby — and that’s cool. I can’t even talk about it without getting emotional.”
To learn more about helping Both Hands Foundation, visitwww.bothhandsfoundation.org.
To view full article and pictures visit: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110929/WILLIAMSON08/309290015/Both-Hands-holds-up-widows-children