When Deb Radi drives by the Assiniboine Credit Union at 640 Broadway, she doesn’t see a financial institution—she remembers a community space that took care of her family when she was young and connected her to United Way Winnipeg for life.
“That used to be my daycare,” recalls Radi. “As a child, our family benefitted from the United Way. My mom was a single parent—I was a kid in a United Way program. My mom wouldn’t have had the resources to be able to afford childcare for me, for her to be able to work.”
Decades later, Radi is now secrétaire générale and conseillère principale en matière de réconciliation et d’éducation autochthone de l’Université de Saint-Boniface, and she also gives her time to United Way Winnipeg as an Agency Liaison Volunteer.
When people give to United Way Winnipeg, 100% of their donation is invested in more than 125 agencies and programs doing critical work to improve lives for vulnerable people across the city. Agency Liaison Volunteers (ALVs) like Radi help United Way Winnipeg and its partners remain accountable for these investments.
ALVs come from a variety of professional backgrounds—bringing their knowledge, skills, and experience in governance, program evaluation, finance, education, and more to the role. Their work centres around meeting with donor-supported agencies to review annual reporting, discuss requests for funding increases, and evaluate new initiatives.
Agency Liaison Volunteer Shahid Khan said it’s important for everyone who gives to United Way Winnipeg to trust their dollars are being invested in the most efficient and effective ways to help those in need.
“Everyone is struggling. Inflation is quite high, and people have limited resources to donate,” said Khan.
“When you do donate, you can rest assured your donations are going toward a worthy cause. United Way Winnipeg is a very well organized, robust organization with very sound stewardship.”
It’s a very special role, because you get to build a relationship over time with an organization … you get to know who the leadership is, how it’s being run, what kind of things are keeping them up at night."
Radi said, further to the accountability work, she loves to be a sounding board for agencies and bring a community perspective to the table. Given her personal history with United Way Winnipeg, it’s no surprise her ALV work includes various organizations connected to education and young people: like BGC Winnipeg, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Manitoba, Thrive Community Support Circle, and Rainbow Resource Centre.
“It’s a very special role, because you get to build a relationship over time with an organization … you get to know who the leadership is, how it’s being run, what kind of things are keeping them up at night,” Radi said.
“You can really be that critical friend that allows you the opportunity to ask tough questions.”
Khan, whose career is in business and accounting, agreed—saying it’s rewarding to help agencies maintain accountability by sharing his knowledge and working through professional challenges as a team.
His ALV positions with Rossbrook House, the Canadian Red Cross, the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM), and more, have also been incredibly valuable on a personal level.
“I’ve gotten to meet some really, really phenomenal, inspirational people. You see people who are very, very passionate about their work. It’s not only humbling, but it’s inspirational to see what people do,” he said.
“It greatly increases our sense of empathy, our sense of community, and our sense of being one broad-scale Winnipeg family.”
“Community members know best what community needs, so they’re the one that need to have a voice.”
South Winnipeg Family Information Centre executive director Tricia Robinson said believes the relationship between agency liaison volunteers and her donor-supported agency is “a beautiful process.”
“It is the community that’s investing in United Way, and United Way is bringing community members to oversee that investment and make sure that investment is being used as the community sees fit,” she said. “Community members know best what community needs, so they’re the one that need to have a voice.”
In addition to their work as Agency Liaison Volunteers, Radi also volunteers as United Way Winnipeg’s Chair of the Council for Indigenous Relations, and Khan sits as Vice-Chair of the Community Investment Committee.
Ultimately, they say what drives them most to continue giving their time is the understanding that we are all Winnipeg, and we all need to take care of one another.
“There are many kinds of layers and levels of community,” said Radi. “It’s always figuring out: where are your connections? Where do you feel at home? Where do you get nurtured and supported and loved and valued?
“Community is fed by connection.”
