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June 12, 2009
From hockey to Israel
Jack Serlin puts his heart into the Maccabiah.
BLAIR KAPLAN
Jack Serlin loves hockey, poppyseed hamantashen and volunteering. He lives and breathes sports and has paved a path for Jewish athletes, both young and old.
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Serlin learned family values at an early age before making the migration west to settle in Vancouver in 1987. After coming to the city for a visit, he fell in love and knew this would be his new home. He is a family man, married with two daughters, and lives in Richmond. Serlin works as an investment adviser by day and volunteers in the Jewish sporting community by late afternoon, on evenings and weekends.
His involvement in the Jewish community began shortly after his move here, when he joined the Jewish Hockey League in 1988. He has been an executive of the league for the better part of the past 15 years and has also played in the JCC Softball and JCC Volleyball leagues.
When he moved here, Serlin began competing across Canada on a beach volleyball team, which he did for 15 years. In 1997, he heard about something that would change his life: Canada was sending a beach volleyball team to the 15th Maccabiah Games in Israel.
The Maccabiah Games takes place every four years in Israel and Jewish athletes from around the world gather to compete while representing their country. Serlin competed in the games twice and, after competing in 2001, he was approached by the Maccabi Canada executive to become a regional director for British Columbia. After being given the opportunity and experience of being part of the Maccabiah, Serlin wanted to give something back to the community, so he agreed. Also, being on the executive board of the International Jewish Men's Slow Pitch Tournament, he was already in the volunteer world.
Serlin believes that volunteering is important because "everyone should give something back to make a community successful and it's one of the key things that anyone can do. It's also important to share things that you are passionate about."
His father came from modest roots in the Canadian Prairies, a family man from a farming community, and has always been Serlin's role model. Growing up around such a genuine figure, as well as the impact Bobby Orr made in the world of hockey, inspired Serlin. Articles from the Internet and the sports pages help keep him up to date, and he occasionally indulges in sports autobiographies, which he finds motivating and educational.
Serlin has a lot of faith and feels that "what we do on this earth means something and being Jewish is essentially a cultural thing that is an identity that [one] shares with [his] brethrens who were raised in a similar environment with similar values and a lot of them tend to be leaders in the greater community."
For Serlin, the Maccabiah Games offer those Jews in the community, who "probably would normally never go to Israel," a chance to visit the country. And he loves being able to use sports as a big influence to travel to Israel.
When Serlin isn't volunteering, you can find him spending time with his family at parks and playgrounds, playing sports and spending time outdoors. He is passing on his commitment to tikkun olam (repairing the world) to his daughters, who volunteer with him from time to time. Serlin shows that you can combine your passion with faith and give something back.
Blair Kaplan is a freelance journalist from Vancouver who has a diverse background in communications. For more information, visit www.blairkaplan.ca.
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