DePaul University Athletics
Doing All They Can to Make This World a Better Place
5/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | DEPAUL ATHLETICS FUND
CHICAGO - Our world would be a far better place if there were a lot more people with the compassion, generosity and insight into the human spirit of Jessica and Steve Sarowitz.
Jessica Sarowitz is a 1991 DePaul graduate who is currently immersed in a new initiative on immigration through community outreach and education to help immigrant families and the underserved understand President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration.
She is also deeply involved with the Honduras-based Sociedad Amigos de los Niños and the Canada-based Friends of Honduran Children that have helped to save more than 35,000 Honduran children from the ravaging effects of hopeless poverty.
Among her husband Steve's leading passions is laying the groundwork for some semblance of peace in the Middle East by building a highly innovative learning center in Israel with Jewish and Arab kids learning side-by-side.
The school in the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Akko is the brainchild of Manchester Bidwell Corporation CEO Bill Strickland who has built eight of these highly successful arts and technology learning centers for the underserved in the United States.
According to a Huffingtonpost.com blog, the first program to be offered at the Israel school will be an after-school training curriculum in Maker Movement technology, including 3-D printing and laser cutting. The center will also offer vocational courses for single mothers, young adults and children of all faiths along with culinary classes, computer and medical technology courses and horticulture.
Steve Sarowitz, founder and chairman of Paylocity, said that in addition to being born and raised in the Jewish faith and his natural affinity for Israel (his great-uncle was friends with former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin), he would like to work toward dialogue between Arabs and Jews.
"I am passionate about promoting peace," said Sarowitz, who has converted to the Baha'i faith. "And right now especially, the world needs more tolerance and the elimination of prejudice."
The Sarowitzs have been tremendous advocates of DePaul athletics, beginning with gifts to support the Blue Demons' outdoor track facility at Lane Tech. They have funded the Pat Savage Endowed Scholarship in honor of the former DePaul track and cross country coach. Jessica Sarowitz endowed a women's soccer scholarship in honor of Blue Demon coach Erin Chastain.
Jessica and Steve's keen interest in spiritual journeys led them to an endowment for the Footsteps of St. Vincent de Paul tours in France taken by the men's and women's basketball teams and the softball team.
During the month of May, Blue Demon athletic programs have been engaged in a scholarship awareness and funding initiative spearheaded by Athletics Development. This is a "scholarship derby" as alumni and alumnae of DePaul athletics programs compete for the highest number of gifts and the total funds raised in May.
The overall goal is to reach 100 gifts of $25 or more. Heading into the home stretch, they are within 11 of hitting that mark.
The impetus behind the Sarowitz's strong connection to DePaul athletics comes from the outgoing, fun-loving Savage.
Steve Sarowitz ran track at Homewood-Flossmoor High School and joined Savage's Niles West/Oakton Track Club in 2002. His goal was to win the Senior Executive category of the Chase Corporate Challenge, which he has done twice.
Jessica and Steve were all set to reveal the endowed scholarship at a dinner four years ago with Savage and his wife Melissa when Savage became sick.
"It turned out I had torn three cords in my heart and needed open-heart surgery to sew the cords back to the mitral valve," Savage said. "Steve, Jess and their family came to visit me in the hospital and told me about the scholarship.
"It's really exciting to have a scholarship named after me. It's exciting to know we have another scholarship for track and field because of what they've done."
Savage has become quite close to Jessica and Steve.
"I would describe Steve and Jess as a couple of balls of fire who are lively, active and both into sports," Savage said. "They are great people, and I can't say enough about them.
"Both of them are incredibly dedicated to helping DePaul. Jess is Honduran, and they sponsor an orphanage in the Honduras. They are about the most generous people I know who firmly believe in the golden rule. At the same time, they are fun to be around.
"When Honduras came to Chicago for a soccer match at Soldier Field, the soccer team stayed at the Sarowitz's home in Highland Park."
Jessica Sarowitz's eyes lit up.
"It wasn't the whole team, but some of them stayed with us," Jessica said with a laugh. "We did throw a party and there were quite a lot of people there."
Steve Sarowitz founded the Paylocity Corporation in 1997 and served as its CEO and president, guiding Paylocity from a start-up operation to become a leader in the payroll service industry.
"I became involved with DePaul through Pat Savage who is just a wonderful man," Sarowitz said. "I'm pretty tall and tower over Pat in a physical sense, but not in any other way that matters. Pat is a giant in my mind.
"I've always loved Pat and trusted him. You could give him $1 million, and he would give it back right to the last penny. He is a great sport with terrific character and a great sense of humor.
"I've been fortunate to be very successful financially. I wanted to make a statement and help people. My wife and I identify with DePaul's mission of providing a college education for first-generation kids."
That's why Steve Sarowitz is so committed to the Northern Israel Arts & Technology School in Israel. An excerpt in the Jewish Chronicle reads: "An arts education and job training program that has been turning around the lives of thousands of Pittsburgh's underserved for decades is set to be replicated in Akko, Israel, and if organizers' dreams take hold, it could ultimately help pave the path for reconciliation in the Middle East."
"Bill Strickland is living proof that it works, and that's a big reason why I'm on his national board," Sarowitz said. "He inspires people.
"The driving force of every person is the human spirit. Once you elevate the soul, you can do anything. No matter your socio-economic level, environment or family history---everyone has a soul that can be sparked. This is groundbreaking stuff. If you don't have the will to live, you don't have the will to learn.
"I believe every soul is so valuable, and no person should be left without options."
Sarowitz is a big admirer of courageous female Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai who defied the local Taliban's ban on girls attending school with her powerful advocacy of educating girls and women.
In October of 2012, Malala was riding her school bus when a gunman asked for her by name, pointed a pistol at her and fired three shots. One bullet hit the left side of her forehead and traveled through the length of her face into her shoulder. Malala miraculously survived and recovered in England.
The assassination attempt sparked a national and international outpouring of support for Yousafzai. United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown launched a UN petition in Malala's name demanding that all children worldwide be in school by the end of 2015. Malala's bravery helped lead to the ratification of Pakistan's first Right to Education Bill. She is the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate.
"The reason behind building that school in Israel goes to the core of the Baha'i belief," Steve Sarowitz said. "It's all about peace. Malala stood up for education for girls and women, and that fits my belief.
"The school in Israel will have Jewish and Arab kids learning side-by-side. They all look like kids, act like kids, like the things all kids enjoy. But because they have different religions---they're supposed to kill each other? I don't understand why."
Sarowitz had the opportunity to make the acquaintance of a very special young lady.
"We were invited to the Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy last June in New York," Sarowitz said. "Malala was a guest speaker, and I wanted to meet her because I am a big fan of her mission to educate women. I believe Malala is a special gift to our world.
"I sought her out and took my 12-year-old daughter Sarah to meet Malala. I also had a great talk with Malala's father Ziauddin Yousafzai who is an amazing person as well. We will probably go over to London and stay with them in the fall."
Sarowitz is excited about extending Strickland's good work by funding a similar school in the North Lawndale area that is scheduled to open in 2016.
Jessica Sarowitz's connection to helping Honduran children dates back quite a ways.
"I've been involved with Friends of Honduran Children and Sociedad Amigos de los Niños for many years," she said. "My parents were involved with Sociedad Amigos de los Niños. Sister Maria Rosa Leggol is 88 years old and still going strong with the community she has founded for orphans and street kids. Sister Maria was an orphan herself and knows what it's like to grow up without parents.
"What inspires me is trying to bring about a transformational outcome for minority youth. Sports can be a really important vehicle for developing youth leadership skills.
"I am focusing on Hispanic communities and the sport of soccer. Adults and kids alike love soccer. Unfortunately, there isn't enough money or resources spent on the women's side.
"I'm helping fund a girls soccer program in Waukegan to develop players who can compete in the elite tournaments and be seen by college scouts. We're also trying to transform the families of these youth soccer players.
"For me, soccer connects us to our Latin American side. We are working together with a recreational organization with around 700 youth in its program. With our funding, we want to provide a stable environment for the group and grow the program. A lot of the kids come from families that cannot afford park district fees for sports."
Jessica Sarowitz would like nothing better than a female soccer player from the Waukegan program to earn a soccer scholarship to DePaul.
"It will happen one day," she said. "There is a lot of talent in the area, and these young people also have good grades academically."
How did Jessica and Steve Sarowitz come to be the amazingly wonderful people they are today? Like most things, it starts with a loving and caring upbringing with mom and dad as the heroes growing up.
"The person I am today, it comes from my family," Jessica said. "My parents were always charitable and looking to assist different organizations with fundraising. I remember them collecting donations for disaster relief. The joy they took in doing these unselfish acts made a strong impression on me."
Her husband was similarly blessed.
"It comes from my mom, a lovely woman who taught me to love everyone regardless of race, gender, economic standing and anything else," Steve said. "Dr. Myrna Sarowitz is a psychologist, a life coach and a loving, caring, kind human being. I learned at her feet.
"I was lucky enough to find the Baha'i faith, and I have a passion for women's rights, equality for all and to eliminate racism. I'll do whatever I can to make the world a better place."
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Join us in our annual challenge to raise endowed scholarship support for our student-athletes and managers. Help your favorite program bring home the Scholarship Month crown. Gifts of $25 or more to a scholarship fund count toward the totals.
Call Keri Roth at 773-325-7240 Online at http://alumni.depaul.edu/GiveToDePaul/Home/Athletics
