One of Carolina Olivas’ favorite quotes is from Mahatma Gandhi: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Carolina, an Administrative Assistant in our Tempe, Arizona office, lives up to those values. She spends much of her free time working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, helping children at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Make-A-Wish is a non-profit organization that arranges experiences, “wishes,” for children with life-threatening medical conditions.
“I’m a Wish Granter,” she said. “I help the Mission Delivery staff in meeting with wish families, collecting detailed information about the child’s wish and family, and planning the wish from beginning to end. I also get to represent the organization at special events for the Spanish-speaking community.”
Carolina has worked with Make-A-Wish for 11 years.
“My friend and I wanted to volunteer for a non-profit that would impact children’s lives, and we found that the Make-A-Wish Foundation was the perfect fit for us,” she said.
She’s a translator on the Phoenix Children’s Hospital pre-op floor, helping Spanish speakers with medical paperwork and facilitating communication among parents, doctors and medical staff.
“While visiting one of my Wish Kids at the hospital, one of the nurses approached me and asked if I’d be interested in volunteering for the hospital as a translator for Spanish-speaking parents,” Carolina said. “I looked into it and I’ve been doing it for five years.”
Thanks to her volunteer work, Carolina was nominated by the Sundt Foundation for Luke Air Force Base’s Hometown Hero Award. Carolina reached the finals of the competition; voting to determine the winner took place on Facebook.
“It was a great privilege for me to make it to the final five and represent Sundt,” she said.
The satisfaction she receives from helping others was enough of a prize. Inspired by Gandhi, she lives a life of service.
“It’s a great way to connect with your community and give back a little,” Carolina said. “You certainly return to society some of the benefits that society gives you. It brings people together.”