Sharon Reichstein to receive Young Leadership Award
By Cynthia Nyman Engel
 Sharon Reichstein has been named recipient of the 2012 Freiman Family Young Leadership Award. Established in 1988, the award recognizes a member of the Ottawa Jewish community under the age of 40 who has rendered exceptional service to the community.
The award will be presented at the annual general meeting of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, Wednesday, June 6, 7:00 pm, at the Joseph and Rose Ages Family Building, 21 Nadolny Sachs Private.
Reichstein is a devoted wife, busy mother of two and dedicated part-time teacher of children with learning disabilities. She also makes considerable time for leadership roles within the community.
“I cannot imagine my life without volunteering,” says Reichstein. “And I always choose to volunteer in areas I feel passionate about.”
That she does. As a young bride, she threw her energy into Na’amat “because of all the great work they do.” Na’amat supports educational and social services in Israel and focuses on providing a fuller life for women and children in Israel and the world.
“The Otzma Chapter of Na’amat was a great fit for me in every way,” she says. “And most of us were newly married, so we were in the same boat. We were a booming chapter.”
Reichstein chaired the organization’s Medical Tea for five years, and, for seven years, chaired the January Fundraising Dinner and Auction and spearheaded the Na’amat School Supplies Project, which involves collecting and stuffing school supplies into more than 200 backpacks for distribution to children living in women’s shelters in Ottawa. She also chaired the highly successful Mother’s Day Tribute Card Fundraiser.
“And,” she chuckles, “when my oldest child was still pretty little, I was president of the chapter.”
As a university student, she volunteered as a part-time residential counsellor at Tamir. It was through that commitment she realized she wanted to teach the learning disabled. She now teaches at MindWare Academy, a private school for children with learning disabilities.
In 2007, when a friend suggested she join the Tamir Board, she accepted with pleasure.
In typical Sharon Reichstein fashion, she threw herself into the new board appointment with gusto. In 2009 and 2011, she chaired the Chai Tea, Tamir’s major fundraising event.
She also initiated Tamir’s Hero Fundraising Program, which entitles $500 donors to become a Hero. The $500 annual donations allow Tamir participants to enjoy their hobbies and interests as well as other necessities of life. The funds from this program also made it possible for several cast members of Tamir’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat production to attend the Ottawa School of Speech & Drama to continue to fuel their love of the stage.
In 2010, Reichstein was among a 75 women honoured by the Women’s Division of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa for leading by example and making a difference in the lives of others in the community.
Sharon and her husband, Sol, have two children, Noah, 11 and Kayla, nine.
“I’m very lucky,” says Reichstein. “Sol is extremely supportive of my involvement in the community. I do it because I believe in it, and I do it, too, to be a model for my children.”
The benefits have already come home to roost. Daughter Kayla has twice donated her hair to Angel Hair for Kids, and son Noah regularly donates to the Madagascar School Project, a twin educational project affiliated with MindWare Academy, his mom’s employer.
“It’s nice to see how they find their way to help,” says Sharon. “Volunteering is not anything remarkable; it’s just how you live your life.”
The recipient of the Freiman Family Young Leadership Award also receives the Lawrence Greenberg Young Leadership Development Award. This award allows the recipient to attend the General Assembly of United Jewish Communities (GA), where young leaders from across North America are honoured. The GA will be held this year from November 11 to 13 in Baltimore.
No deed too large or too small for Shem Tov Award recipient
By Cynthia Nyman Engel
When it comes to doing good works, Issie Scarowsky is definitely a ‘Yes’ man.
Scarowsky has been named recipient of the Shem Tov Community Volunteer Award for 2012. Created in 2003, the award recognizes an outstanding volunteer within the Jewish community who, through many years of service, has contributed to the enrichment of Jewish life in Ottawa.
The award will be presented at the annual general meeting of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, Wednesday, June 6, 7:00 pm, at the Joseph and Rose Ages Family Building, 21 Nadolny Sachs Private.
“I learned it at home,” Scarowsky says of his passion for volunteerism. “When I was growing up, my father was involved in our synagogue and always helpful when the mishlochim came to the house.”
Home was Montreal where, as a boy, Scarowsky was the newsletter editor for his Jewish youth organization.
“In those days, we actually typed up the newsletter on stencils,” he laughs. “Then we would put it on a Gestetner and print out each issue by hand. And then we had to collate each issue by hand.”
In 1977, Issie and Leah Scarowsky moved to Ottawa where Issie took a position with Bell Canada. They joined the Young Israel Synagogue where his editing background was put to good use.
“We were asked by the leaders of Young Israel if we’d help out and, among the things we did, we worked on the synagogue newsletter,” he smiles.
Issie served on the board of the Young Israel. For many years, the couple also volunteered their help with the synagogue’s bingo fundraisers, among other shul endeavours.
When the Scarowsky offspring were attending École Maimonides, their dad made it his business to pitch in to make school life better.
“I used to round up used equipment,” he says. “I’d buy used stuff from the school board; things like books, chairs, other discards. It gave the students things they couldn’t have had otherwise.”
Later, when his boys moved on to secondary school studies at the Ottawa Torah Institute and his girls to Machon Sarah, both he and Leah were involved on the boards of the schools.
“Our view always was to help out in any way we could,” he explains.
Several years ago, Scarowsky’s mother came from Montreal to reside at Hillel Lodge. The Lodge not only gained a new resident, it also gained a gabbai for its Shabbat and holiday services.
“Once my mother was here, I began going to services at Hillel Lodge and I’ve been doing it for nine years,” says the devoted son, who is also a past member of the Hillel Lodge Board.
In addition to handing out aliyas at services, Scarowsky makes a point of visiting individual floors on the High Holidays to blow the shofar for those residents who didn’t have the opportunity to come down to the chapel. On Sukkot, he visits each resident with the lulav and etrog and, at Pesach, he leads a sample seder at the lodge so that all the residents get a taste of the holiday. He can also be counted on to take photos at the Lodge’s monthly birthday parties.
After he retired in 2005, Scarowsky became active with the Chevra Kadisha. In addition to doing taharas, he sits on the Chevra Kadisha board. He also sits on the board of the Kollel of Ottawa.
Scarowsky lends his time to help other worthy organizations when they have specific needs, and no deed is too large or too small for his consideration. At Purim, he often helps JET deliver Mishloach Manot orders to homes around the city.
Scarowsky is quick to point out that he is not alone in his good works.
“A lot of what I do is done with my wife’s support and co-operation,” he says. “And she, too, is involved in many organizations. With us, it’s really a family thing.”
Issie and Leah have four children, two in Israel, one in New Jersey and one in Ottawa. Tragically, a fifth child was killed in an automobile accident. They are also the proud grandparents of 10 grandchildren.
“It’s very nice that the community chooses to recognize its volunteers, but helping is always the right thing to do,” says Scarowsky.
“The award is superfluous, but very nice. I hope that it serves as an example to others to volunteer their time, too.” |
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