Exploring Life & Business with Heather Olson of MI Life in Numbers

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

Hi Heather, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I have always dreamed of having my own nonprofit and in the summer of 2021, I finally decided to chase after my dreams. With being type one diabetic for 16 years, I wanted to help other people who battled the highs and lows of diabetes each day and have them be able to turn to someone who knew what it felt like to be in their shoes. I decided to start MI Life in Numbers last year to provide a community here in SW Michigan for diabetics to turn to for support, advice, guidance, and meet other people who also live with diabetes. This new adventure has been so rewarding and I am so grateful for everyone I have met through MLIN thus far. I got to where I am today from having my family, friends, and board members support along this new journey. They all believed in my vision and encouraged me to pursue my dream! 

Alright, 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?
With every new journey, there are lots of highs and lows. We are so grateful to have the community’s support on this new endeavor and a wonderful group of advocates and volunteers supporting us. One thing we are hoping to improve over the next few months is to raise more awareness on our programs, so more people can learn what we are doing and utilize the services we provide. Another struggle we have run into is a lot of programs and events with hospitals and clinics have been postponed or canceled the past few years because of COVID. This has been hard because these are huge networking events for us to expand our reach, meet more people living with diabetes, and inform them on the programs we offer and how it could impact their life. 

We’ve been impressed with MI Life in Numbers, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
MI Life in Numbers is a nonprofit located out of SW Michigan whose mission is to support and empower people living with type one diabetes. We offer a variety of programs including an advocate program for newly diagnosed diabetics and their families, a monthly event to meet other people living with diabetes in the community, a monthly empowerment group, and counseling services. We have also been working with the local school systems to meet with diabetic students to provide extra support and guidance in any way possible. We are planning on hosting a retreat next year as well, so we are very excited for that. 

Our organization is also raising awareness of type one diabetes across the state and through social media by sharing our member’s stories and showing what it looks like to live with diabetes each day. We want to show the 24/7 care it requires, but also how to live your life to the fullest and not let diabetes define your limits. 

I think what sets MLIN apart from other diabetes nonprofits is that we offer one of the only advocate programs in Michigan. This program is such a helpful resource as people are learning all about their diabetes management and it can be very overwhelming to adjust to life with diabetes. We are so grateful that our program allows us to help with this new transition and support families along the way. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.milifeinnumbers.com
• Instagram: @MILifeinNumbers
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/milifeinnumbers

Image Credits
Monet Schrader