Meet Jeff Zabudsky - United Way's 2009 Campaign Chair

March 12, 2009 | Community News | Archive 2009

Jeff Zabudsky has dedicated both his personal and professional life to reaching out to the broader community and connecting more people with opportunities to plug into their potential.

It proved to be an ideal fit for Winnipeg's Red River College, where he's been President for nearly five years and where he's just signed on for five more.

It also makes him perfect for his new role as Chair of United Way of Winnipeg's 2009 Campaign.

Jeff has big plans for the coming year.

"There's something really special about Winnipeg and its connection to United Way. I'm excited about challenging Winnipeg and showing how important United Way is to this community in a very meaningful, compelling way," he says.

Though new to the Campaign Chair's position, Jeff is very familiar with United Way, having served on employee campaign committees in two other provinces. In Winnipeg, he became involved in a leadership capacity early in his tenure at Red River, where's he's been attempting to grow the prominence of United Way since. For the past three years, he's served as a member of the Campaign Cabinet.

"I see the impact United Way has in the lives of young people who make their way into my college," he says. "It's profound. It's amazing."

He also sees a great deal of value in United Way's focus on poverty reduction - particularly during uncertain economic times.

"In a year when United Way agency partners are more needed by the community than ever, there's no more important time to support United Way," Jeff says. "Imagine, having to cut programs and services at a time when people are in greater difficulty in their lives. That's unthinkable."

Jeff strongly supports United Way's focus on addressing the root causes of our city's most challenging social issues.

"I see great hope for the future if we can get it right," Jeff says. "And United Way is one of those organizations that is doing its best to ensure we're doing the right things. Without it, we've got a void. We've got a big piece of our community that's going to go missing."

Having lived in no less than nine different cities throughout his lifetime, this native of Northern Ontario offers a fresh and unique perspective on his adopted home.

"There's a cultural vibrancy in this community," he says. "It's ethnically diverse. I love the increasingly cosmopolitan nature of the city.

"And that's one of the things I love about United Way is that many of its agency partners provide support to new Canadians who are settling in Winnipeg and need a good platform to grow from," he adds.

For Jeff, his wife and three daughters, Winnipeg is proving to be a great platform for growth.

"I've appreciated how much I've been embraced by the community. It's a very welcoming place. It's been an easy place to develop a network of friends and associates."

And building relationships is exactly what Jeff plans to continue doing as Chair of United Way's 2009 Campaign, which officially kicks off in September.

"I'm going to invest a lot of my time speaking with as many groups as possible about becoming engaged with United Way at any level," he says. "We need to focus on increased participation from the broader community. We've got to start building for the future and what better year to do it?"

"I'm hoping this is the year Winnipeggers' involvement in and support for United Way's work in the community goes through the roof."

A message to Winnipeg about United Way's campaign Janury 5, 2012