By Cynthia Nyman Engel

It was Mitchell Bellman on the phone. The president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa was asking Sarah Silverstein if she’d consider chaperoning the April 2010 March of the Living mission to Poland and Israel.
Would she?

You bet she would!

But first there was the little matter of sons David, seven, and Lev, two, to be arranged. In no time flat, it was decided: David would stay home with Dad, young Lev would be shipped off to Bubbie in Toronto.

And Silverstein was on her way.

“Eight girls had signed up for the trip and they needed a female chaperone, so I was it,” she says happily.

“The trip was wonderful. We travelled with [Holocaust survivor] David Shentow. It was an absolutely fantastic experience.”

Silverstein has been named recipient of the Freiman Family Young Leadership Award for 2010. 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.

Silverstein’s infinite curiosity and boundless energy leads her to find opportunities all around. Born and raised in Toronto, she attended Hebrew day school and, after graduating, entered Forest Hill High School where she discovered, to her delight, a whole new world.

“There were so many clubs to join, so many opportunities to learn new things,” she says.
Silverstein was active in USY, led youth services at Beth Tzedek Synagogue and worked as a counsellor at Camp Kadima in Nova Scotia.

She earned a bachelor of arts honours degree in political studies from Queen’s University, where she was active in Hillel and involved in Kaleidoscope, a program that partners university students with underprivileged children. She also holds a bachelor of social work degree from McMaster University and a master’s degree in social work from Carleton University.

Silverstein met her husband, Jack, in his hometown of London, Ontario, where he was youth director of USY. The couple moved to Ottawa in 2001, where he is now executive director of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa Annual Campaign and president of the Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation.

Silverstein waxes eloquent about the benefits of participating in the Young Women’s Leadership Council program and her enthusiasm is contagious.

“There was a whole series of different women welcoming and encouraging me,” the 35- year-old marvels. “And it opened up so many opportunities. Different things led to different things … it just sort of happens and,” she laughs, “all of a sudden, we were having a whole lot of babysitters.”

The young wife and mother has managed to pack a lot of volunteering into a very short span of time.

Silverstein chaired the Ottawa Newcomers Tea and sat on the Mitzvah Day, Choices, P2K, Yad and Shalom Baby committees. She attended the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly in 2005 and participated in community missions to Israel in 2005 and 2007. She is a Chai Walker in the annual Walkathon and volunteers for the Federation’s Annual Campaign Telethon.

It doesn’t stop there. Silverstein has worked on women’s programming at the Ottawa Torah Centre, is a member of Na’amat and sits on the board of State of Israel Bonds. Not surprisingly, she was singled out for recognition as one of Federation’s 75th Anniversary award recipients.

Silverstein also created Magic Wanda, a program that collects unwanted furniture and household items and arranges for them to go directly to families in need.

All this and she runs a busy household, too.

“I’m proud to be part of the Ottawa Jewish community,” says Silverstein. “It’s dynamic and welcoming, and getting involved helped me meet so many people and do so many rewarding things. There’s a lot out there for a small community.”