ABOUT THE LOVE FOR LEWISTON FOUNDATION

The Love for Lewiston Foundation exists to create awareness, bring joyful experiences through spreading love and directing money to support local SMA families, and ultimately raising funds focused on treatments and finding a cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy through SMA Research and supporting The Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation initiatives.

The Love for Lewiston Foundation was born from a position the Olstad’s embraced to spend their son Lewiston’s first birthday, not as a pity party, but a celebration of his short but influential life. The community surrounded them in their darkest moments and the Olstad’s encountered light and strength in sharing their burden. The Olstad’s wanted to keep spreading the joy and love that they had received on to others. They believe to their core that Lewiston’s message of “squeezing a little tighter, loving a little deeper and dancing a little longer”, was meant to be shared with the world.

With seven weeks to the day, they rallied their close friends, organized and hosted their first official Lewiston event on May 25, 2017 – it raised just over $42,000 in one night. To make everything legit as an Alberta-registered society, the paperwork was prepared during the planning phases but not expected to be completed for months. Jessica received a call the morning of the party, on Lewiston’s first birthday, declaring that the paperwork had been processed, approved and certified, making the Love for Lewiston Foundation an official society. This was all thanks to an amazing accounting team at Pinnacle Accounting and Finance to help push through the paperwork.

To date the Foundation is a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency. 

Our Board of Directors

Jessica Janzen Olstad | Executive Director 
Jessica is a farm girl, now urban city dweller in Calgary, Canada. She ditched her corporate gig and the 9 -5 grind to live her most authentic, bold, joyful life. She is most proud of her husband and kids, but that’s closely followed by the foundation work and Love for Lewiston clothing line. It’s developed, designed and locally made in her hometown to help raise funds and awareness for the Love for Lewiston Foundation, SMA & Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. Jessica and her  Hot Hubby – Hot Ronnie as she calls him – started the foundation with 3 of their best friends to honor our son who passed away in November 2016 from a rare genetic disease called SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy). Their goal is find a cure and get newborn screening to place so that no family has to endure what they did with our son Lewiston. Her daily focus is to run towards the roar.

Jason Cirankewitch  | Board Member
Jason is born and raised in Calgary and lives with his lovely wife Kelsey who is teacher here in the city. Kelsey is the pillar and keeps Jason from being too serious.  His role as Assistant Vice President of Capital Markets for Coast Capital Equipment Finance. He enjoys long walks on the beach, ripping it up on the dance floor and playing rec league hockey. Jason stepped up and asked to be a part of the founding board and was willing to take on all of the financial components to ensure that every cent is accounted for. His attention to detail has given the foundation the leg up to manage funds and manage them well. Jason serves as Treasurer on the board. He also wants the title of CPO – Chief Party Officer but Jessica always gives him a good run for his money. 

 

Justine Moreau | Board Member
Justine is honoured and grateful to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Love for Lewiston foundation. She is a Partner in Calgary-based creative services firm Bespoke Projects, and her passion for exceptional brands has been fostered by varied local and international professional marketing experiences. Captivated by great ads, she gradually made moves to the agency world where she sharpened her copywriting skills and learned how to move a great idea from a screen to a billboard – and beyond. Her strategic planning, digital marketing and creative development skills ensured she was well positioned for her current leadership role, and is key in contributing to the overall direction and activation of the Love for Lewiston brand. Plus, she usually brings popcorn wherever she goes. 

 

Ronnie Olstad  | Board Member
Ronnie is a born and raised Calgarian and proud to have spent his entire life in this great city. He is a small business owner and partner in a Franchise company 98 Food Co, a local Calgary business, which franchises over several provinces and provides locals with great food and drink.  Brands under the banner include Chachis’s Sandwiches, Hula Poke, Dirtbelly and Deville Coffee. Ronnie is most famously known for being Swayzie, Lewiston and Hollis’ loving father, and husband to Jessica. As the backbone of the foundation he is a strong supporter of his wife’s crazy ideas, working quietly in the background to ensure their success. He has a love for the Miami Dolphins, San Jose Sharks and Oakland A’s. Family time is the most important thing to him and he enjoys quiet weekends at home bbqing and making the yard beautiful. Ronnie is Lewiston’s number one fan and leading the charge with newborn screening in Alberta. As a lover of sports and physical activity, he initiated the LFL Golf Tournament, raising funds to honor his son, giving hope to those who need it, and bringing greater awareness to SMA, all of which is changing the landscape of SMA.

 

Shailynn Taylor | Board Member
Born and raised in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan, Shailynn Taylor knew from a young age that despite living with type 2 Spinal Muscular Atrophy, she planned to spread her wings after high school. She dove into discovering what moving away from home was like while fighting a terminal disability and being dependant on others for her daily care needs. Shailynn moved to Vancouver BC in 2014 to create a life of her own at Simon Fraser University. When she realized BC wasn’t where she planned to be long term, she moved to Alberta where she has happily lived in Calgary for four years while attending Mount Royal University. At MRU Shailynn is presently in her fourth year of the Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice program and she hopes to enter the field of Law or probation once she has completed her degree. Shailynn is so grateful to have had the opportunity to spend time with the Olstads and Lewiston during his short time here and is honoured to be a part of continuing Lewiston’s legacy through the Love for Lewiston Foundation.