Last summer Olivia Dower became an intern at The Dale and now she is joining our staff. We couldn’t be more pleased!

We first met Olivia a number of years ago when she came to The Dale’s Monday Drop-In with Project Serve, an arm of Youth Unlimited. I remember her obvious interest in what we were doing and the ease with which she quietly met with people. Our team felt a quick connection and always looked forward to when Olivia could be around. We got accustomed to seeing her in the summer because during the school year Olivia was studying in Chicago. 

One wintery day we met Olivia at a coffee shop to discuss the possibility of her doing an internship at The Dale. As a Moody Bible Institute student, Olivia was required to do a placement, preferably in a context that matched her focus: Urban Ministry. Olivia felt like an obvious fit, and so we developed a eight+ week plan that would allow her to experience everything The Dale does. Through that time Olivia, along with our other intern Ahmeda, developed many relationships, participated in all our programming, offered support to and received support from the community, and attended staff meetings. Olivia was cheerfully game for everything. It was a special summer. You can read her own blogs about it here: The Dale Is and Saying Goodbye

Fast forward a year. With her studies complete, Olivia was ready to find work. The two of us met in another coffee shop where she indicated a desire to join The Dale staff team and a willingness to do the fundraising that would make this possible. I, along with our Board of Directors met with Olivia and were quickly convinced of how good a fit she is. Together we, along with Joanna, Meagan and Pete, are excited to announce that Olivia has been hired as a Community Worker. 

Olivia, welcome. We hope that you quickly feel embraced. 

To learn more about Olivia, you can follow her new blog at: https://oliviadower.home.blog/home/