Winnipeg's Hannah Glinter will be running in the Jerusalem Marathon on March 1st, in support of the Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin that aids soldiers in the Israel Defence Forces who do not have family in Israel.

“Although I have not run a full race, I have participated in marathons before in different capacities and I love the spirit and adrenaline. The Lone Soldier Center was putting together a team and it was only natural for me to participate with them as I am a volunteer there and I think it's a great cause,” said 23 year old Glinter.

“Right now I am helping my sister who also lives in Jerusalem with her 7 month old twins and I am preparing for the race by running in my neighbourhood and training with a friend. In March 2012 I ran 10 km in the Tel Aviv marathon. I will be running 10 km in this marathon, as well.”

After graduating from the International Master of Public Health the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Glinter made Aliyah in October 2012. She is working part time in retail to practise her Hebrew and is a volunteer at the Lone Soldier Center in Jerusalem.

“I have many very close friends who've also made Aliyah and served in the Israeli army as lone soldiers. The center provides amazing support in a multitude of ways including counseling, furniture and appliance donations, shabbat meals, social programming and more,” said Glinter who has a Bachelor of Science from McGill University in Montreal.

“I went to an event with a friend who is a former lone soldier and I heard that the Center was in need of volunteers, so I got involved. If I had made Aliyah only a few years earlier, I too would have been drafted as a lone soldier so this is a cause that means a lot to me.”

“The IDF drafts female immigrants, who do not have an Israeli parent until the age of 20, at which point you can choose to volunteer for a period of 6 months to two years. At 23, they don't typically even encourage volunteering, although I probably could. Because of my acceptance into medical school, I chose not to.”

“The Center has helped thousands of soldiers over the years and recently they have helped some friends who I'm very close with. My friend Rebecca Baskin from Toronto is a former lone soldier who was assisted by the Center and she will also be running in the marathon. I just wanted to give back to an organization that I think does so much for others,” said Glinter.

In order to donate to Glinter in support of the Lone Soldier Center, see
http://www.razoo.com/story/Hannah-Glinter

Hannah’s parents are Nancy a teacher at Gray Academy and Harry a lawyer. She has two brothers and two sisters. Her sister Ruthie, 30, lives in Jerusalem and is a speech language pathologist who works with special needs children. Her brother Ezra, 28, lives in New York and is the deputy arts editor at the Jewish Daily Forward. Her brother Ariel, 25, lives in Winnipeg and is articling after graduating from Law at the University of Manitoba in 2012. Leah, 20, is a student at the University of Winnipeg.

Glinter graduated from Gray Academy in 2007 and spent many summers as a camper and counsellor at Camp Massad a Hebrew immersion camp located in Winnipeg Beach.

She was accepted into the medicine school for international health at Ben Gurion University for this coming August.

“I'm very excited to be a doctor and hopefully be able to use my public health education to work in developing communities.”

This article first appeared in the Jewish Tribune