O'Ree finalist spotlight: Sarah Dunkel-Jackson

The Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award presented by Discover is given to an individual who, through hockey, has positively impacted his or her community culture or society. The award honors O'Ree, the former NHL forward who became the first Black player to play in the NHL on Jan. 18, 1958, and has spent more than two decades as the NHL's diversity ambassador. After a public voting period and votes from O'Ree, NHL executives and Discover executives, the winner will be announced in June. There will be a winner from the United States and one from Canada.

Today, a look at one of three United States finalists, Sarah Dunkel-Jackson:

Sarah Dunkel-Jackson's 14-year-old son, Cale, is a hockey player, so to learn more about the sport, she turned to "99: Stories of the Game" written by Wayne Gretzky.

It's when Dunkel-Jackson remembers reading about Willie O'Ree, her first impression just like any other kid from Canada who loved hockey. She then learned about everything he powered through before and after becoming the first Black player in the NHL with the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum on Jan. 18, 1958.

Dunkel-Jackson thought O'Ree's life story would be nice to read to her kids. She's penning her own chapter as a finalist for the Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award that, since 2017-18, has been presented annually "to an individual who -- through the game of hockey -- has positively impacted his or her community, culture or society."

The Doctor of Philosophy, researcher and professor at Michigan State University founded the Hockey Challenge Camp, a program for children and their hockey buddies with unique learning and/or medical needs, channeling her expertise into working with the local Arc Livingston chapter in Brighton, Michigan, about an hour from Detroit.

She's learned a lot about O'Ree, the 89-year-old native of Fredericton, New Brunswick.

"He did some amazing things about overcoming barriers in his career," Dunkel-Jackson said. "And I just want to make sure that other kids who might be facing challenges or facing barriers, they too can participate in fun things like sports around the game."

Dunkel-Jackson is one of six finalists, three from the United States and three from Canada. The winners will each receive $25,000 to donate to a charity of their choice, the four remaining finalists granted $5,000. Five years ago, she helped launch the Baseball Challenge League that's enjoyed growth rapid enough to create demand for more sports.

Enter the Hockey Challenge Camp.

"I did a program evaluation to see what people liked about it," Dunkel-Jackson said. "I remember going over the results with my son, Cale, and he said, 'Hey, mom, let's do hockey.' We pitched the idea to some of the players and their families, and they said, 'Yes, let's do it.'"

Arc Livingston is a nonprofit empowering those with developmental disabilities and their families to ensure that they as citizens are valued, and that they can participate fully in and contribute to the life of their community. Executive Director Laura Sauer got an email about nominations for the Willie O'Ree Award. Her first thought was Dunkel-Jackson.

"She embodies those characteristics that I feel are so important to inclusion and change in our community, spreading an awareness of the importance of recreational opportunity for everyone," Sauer said. "She has a natural instinct for coaching, for helping children connect with one another, for organizing community members and really rallying people behind a cause, like the Hockey Challenge Camp."

Dunkel-Jackson grew up in East Lansing, Michigan, yearning to play hockey but with her community lacking a girls team, turned to gymnastics and track while winning a state championship in softball her senior year of high school. She thought she'd grow up to be an architect, until a field trip to a school for kids with disabilities for a psychology course.

Her heart melted.

"I said, 'This is what I need to do,'" Dunkel-Jackson recalled.

Dunkel-Jackson attended Grand Valley State University (Allendale, Michigan), played for their new lacrosse team, switched her major from architecture to special education and became the first in her family to graduate college. Next was a Master of Science degree and Ph. D. at Southern Illinois University, studying behavior analysis and scientific methods of helping kids.

During that time, she noticed those with disabilities didn't participate in sports. They thought, what's the point?

"That really was heartbreaking," Dunkel-Jackson said, "to see that these kiddos didn't get to participate because they felt like they shouldn't come back, or their families felt like they weren't welcomed. So, what we did was, with a bunch of other amazing teachers and other people in my community, we created the Baseball Challenge League."

At the heart of the matter, Sauer said, Dunkel-Jackson is a teacher and clinician committed to inclusion and accessibility in sports. It's a perfect match. Dunkel-Jackson's cousin, Stephanie, is a poly hockey player and Special Olympics bocce ball state champion. Visuals are used to communicate with players on the ice. Bonds are formed to make Hockey Buddies through mentorship.

Just ask Cale.

"I get to play hockey and have fun and help kids learn the sport that I think is awesome," he said. "If they need help with the drill, help with learning how to shoot, learning how to pass and just be their friend."

O'Ree made allies during and beyond 21 seasons in professional hockey. He became a member of the Order of Canada through making extraordinary contributions to his country and entered the Hockey Hall of Fame as a Builder with the Class of 2018. He was the first in his sport to receive a Congressional Gold Medal in 2019. His No. 22 was retired by the Bruins on Jan. 18, 2022.

Dunkel-Jackson is now part of the O'Ree thread. She wrote "sports are for everyone" while evaluating the Hockey Challenge Camp. It was on instinct. What's she's doing is working.

After all, if they can play, they can play.

"It spelled out safe," Dunkel-Jackson said, "and I thought that was so great because it was a safe place for kids to play sports."