Vanita Oelschlager is a wife, mother, grandmother, philanthropist, former teacher, current caregiver, author and poet. A graduate of Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, she now serves as a Trustee of her alma mater and as Writer in Residence for the Literacy Program at The University of Akron. Vanita and her husband Jim were honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. She was the Congressional Angels in Adoption award recipient for the State of Ohio and was named National Volunteer of the Year by the MS Society. Vanita was also honored as the Woman Philanthropist of the Year by the Summit County, Ohio, Chapter of the United Way.