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Marc Of An Activist: From singles to college students to world Jewry, no. cause eludes the self-effacing Marc Hurwitz.
Even when he was 11 years old, Marc Hurwitz had a knack for getting people out for a good cause. Back in those days, Mr. Hurwitz watched some of his pals in his Pikesville neighborhood hold carnivals on their families' lawns to benefit charities such as the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Not to be outdone, he organized a similar event in his back yard to raise money for Israel.
"Don't ask me how much money I raised. I couldn't tell you," Mr. Hurwitz, now 37, says laughing. "I think early on I had a strong feeling about Israel from my grandparents. Israel was an important part of growing up."
This commitment to Israel and all things Jewish has led Marc Hurwitz down a road of activism aimed at bettering the Jewish community, locally and globally. He has watched in awe from the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport as immigrants from the Soviet Union stepped off planes in Israel to start new lives as free Jews.
Concerned about an intermarriage rate exceeding 50 percent, Mr. Hurwitz has also selflessly given his time and money over the last decade to help Baltimore's single Jews feel more connected. And to fight assimilation on campuses, he has helped Jewish college students discover or maintain their Jewish identities.
"Thank God, I've been in a position where I can devote time and energies to the Jewish community to give back all that's been given to me," Mr. Hurwitz said.
Recently, Mr. Hurwitz, a reserved man with an easy laugh and flecks of gray in his brown beard, has received several awards for his work in the Jewish world. The National Council of Young Israel, representing over 150 Orthodox synagogues in the United States and Canada, presented its Shofar Award to the...