AARP Hearing Center
Gayle Brown Olson has been awarded the 2025 AARP Andrus Award for Community Service for Minnesota. The annual award is AARP’s most prestigious and visible volunteer award. It recognizes individuals who share their experience, talent, and skills to enrich their communities in ways consistent with AARP’s purpose and vision. Gayle’s unwavering commitment to volunteer service exemplifies the belief of AARP’s founder, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, in the power of ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
Gayle Brown Olson is a volunteer grief companion at Bri’s Lodge, a nonprofit organization in Central Minnesota offering support to individuals and families navigating the loss of a loved one. A retired licensed social worker, Gayle began volunteering after her own life was forever changed by tragic loss in her own life. Instead of retreating from her pain, she turned it into a calling: “I needed to be a part of it,” she said. “A part of making a difference for those who are grieving.”
Gayle’s professional and personal experiences make her an invaluable part of the Bri’s Lodge community. Her service as a grief companion involves weekly sessions where she supports individuals through the many layers of grief, particularly those experiencing the death of a spouse or child. Because of her background in social work and deep empathy, Gayle is often matched with clients facing more complex or traumatic losses. With deep compassion and unwavering presence, Gayle helps her clients access therapy, connect to support groups, and navigate resources that offer stability and healing.
In addition to direct support, Gayle is a vital contributor to Bri's Lodge's direction and philosophy. Her involvement on the programming committee helps shape trauma-informed, emotionally supportive, and accessible services. She also actively promotes Bri’s Lodge's mission in the broader community, raising awareness and encouraging others to access services or join as volunteers.
Bri’s Lodge founder, Tami Kruzel, reflects on what Gayle’s service has meant to their community:
Gayle redefines what it means to age with purpose. Her work reminds us that bravery isn’t always loud. Sometimes it looks like showing up, week after week, to sit beside someone in their pain. Sometimes it’s saying, “You’re not alone,” and meaning it. Gayle does that—and so much more.
Tami Kruzel, Bri’s Lodge Founder
AARP Minnesota is proud to name Gayle Brown Olson as the recipient of the 2025 AARP Andrus Award. AARP’s founder, Dr. Andrus, said, “It is only in the giving of oneself to others that we truly live.” Gayle embodies this as she serves as a steady, healing presence in the lives of others. Her presence offers a sense of continuity, dignity, and support that helps people stay engaged with life, even in the face of heartbreak, and that presence has inspired others to follow in her footsteps.
To learn more about Bri’s Lodge and how you can get involved, visit brislodge.com.
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