You know those kids who you see and think, “Wow, they are inspiring!” Well, this 12-year-old girl in the #Amplifriday spotlight today will inspire you as she is the epitome of resilience, grit, grace, and determination, and that’s Olivia Norman.
We love it when parents nominate their remarkable kids who have tremendous impact, and are thrilled with today’s nomination.
Olivia’s Mom, Mandy, writes:
“Olivia was born with a rare genetic condition called Koolen Devries Syndrome (KDVS). Typical characteristics of KDVS that affect her are epilepsy, low muscle tone, speech and cognitive delays, and strabismus (misalignment of the eyes). Throughout her life, Olivia has had to work hard to meet milestones that parents of typically developing children take for granted. Things like sitting unassisted, crawling, and walking came later for her, and her speech was very limited in her early years. She spent years doing speech and physical therapies, and has had a wonderful team at school who have provided adaptive bikes, specialized swim lessons, and modified curriculum. She works hard at any task set before her and always has a smile on her face and a joyful heart. She loves to be a helper and big buddy to younger kids, especially children with disabilities.
Olivia has tried a few different sports and activities throughout the years that she has enjoyed: gymnastics, Irish dance, Special Olympics bowling, and most recently Volt Hockey. Volt Hockey is an adaptive hockey game played in electric chairs, similar to go-karts, designed for people with disabilities. This sport has been popular in Europe since the 90s, but just became available in Canada in the last few years. Last September, Olivia had the opportunity to travel to Sweden to represent Team Alberta for the World Cup, where teams from 6 countries gathered to compete. This was a great learning experience as most of these players were skilled adults who had been playing for decades. Olivia continues to play Volt with Team Alberta and will be travelling to Toronto in the Spring to play against teams from Ontario and Manitoba.”
Clearly, Olivia looks at a challenge and works hard to overcomes it, while also mentoring others to achieve their goals too.
Olivia – you are a remarkable person of impact! As is our team at Amplify Consulting Inc.’s commitment, we will donate $100 to a charity of your choice to further amplify both your remarkable impact and the charity’s.
Nominate someone remarkable at the bottom of this page.
Last week we were excited to amplify Olivia Norman and celebrate a young girl chasing her dreams. As a part of AmpliFriday, we donate $100 to a charity of choice for our amplified individual, and Olivia has chosen Variety – the Children’s Charity of Alberta.
Variety – the Children’s Charity of Alberta supports children facing physical, developmental, emotional or learning challenges through education, advocacy, and community outreach. Their mission
is to create futures without limitations.
Olivia’s Mom, Mandy, explains,
“Variety provides support to families of children with specialized needs throughout Alberta and funds and organizes Volt Hockey within the province. Olivia loves this sport and all her opportunities to make new friends, be part of a team, and travel for tournaments.”
Congratulations again, Olivia, on being amplified; we are happy to make a $100 donation to Variety in your honour.
Amplify Consulting Inc. is a company that helps leaders, and their organizations amplify their impact through communications and stakeholder engagement. #Amplifriday is our passion
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