Business skills and personal experiences blend to rally aid for Arizona’s homeless
Steve Zabilski got the entrepreneurial itch as a child while caddying Sundays for his father at the local golf course in Los Angeles.
“My father would give me a dollar at the end of each round,” explains Steve. “I loved it, not just for the opportunity to make money, but mainly for the quality time with my dad.”
By age 11, after a couple years of caddying for his father, Steve realized there was another golf course down the road he could bike to and caddy for other golfers. Instead of a modest dollar from dear old dad, he’d earn up to ten dollars a round from his clients.
“It was my first real job,” he continues. “I liked that I was progressing financially. I opened my first bank account and would make deposits on my way home from the golf course.”
He notes a clear difference from helping his father and the other golfers, one that resonates in his work today as executive director for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Phoenix, an international nonprofit organization founded over 175 years ago in Paris, France.
“Caddying for cash was great, but it was just a job. Being on the golf course with my father was entirely different. I respected him and when I was with him the money didn’t matter. While I respected the other golfers too, it wasn’t the same as the bond between a father and his son.”
Fast forward through Steve’s college years at California State University – Northridge, and across 15 years of combined work for KPMG Peat Marwick, an international CPA firm, and Transamerica, a large insurance company, and we find Steve still going strong having now served 13 years for St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix.
“I loved every day of my corporate business experiences,” says Steve, “but with St. Vincent de Paul I feel I’m back to doing something I love even more. It’s certainly not for the money. I don’t think of it as a job, so much as a mission. This is who I am and what I’m meant to be doing. These days, I feel like I’m caddying for my father again, not just working at the country club. This is a feeling many of our volunteers can relate to as well. They are doing what they are called to do, where their hearts lead them, and in the process they are making a difference every day for central and northern Arizona’s homeless and working poor.”
That difference is significant, especially considering the breadth of services the Society provides in Arizona.
The Phoenix operations of St. Vincent de Paul span central and northern regions of the state where Steve and his team of 200 employees organize and empower approximately 16,000 volunteers who help staff five charity dining rooms as well as medical and dental clinics that provide essential living services for the homeless and people in need. St. Vincent de Paul also operates a food reclamation center, a homeless outreach ministry that provides counseling and job assistance, twelve thrift stores, a homeless shelter, and much more.
Although Steve’s efforts have been recognized with community awards including the United Way Chisolm Award and the Phoenix Community Alliance Center’s City Star Award, his razor-sharp purview of charitable funds collected by St. Vincent de Paul is possibly the most impressive accomplishment. More than ninety cents of every dollar donated to SVdP goes towards funding programs and services for the homeless and working poor. Steve is quick to credit the organization, staff and volunteers for this
“This isn’t an organization that people send money to, just to have it randomly dispersed. St. Vincent de Paul is volunteer-driven, and essentially facilitates how volunteers from within the community can put their energy and talents to good use on our campuses. I think this approach makes us different from other nonprofit organizations – although we naturally applaud the efforts of all organizations that serve needy adults, families and children through their chosen methods.”
Steve insists that volunteers and financial supporters feel ownership in St. Vincent de Paul. “This isn’t guilt-driven volunteerism. It is driven by people and passion.”
In fact, after first expressing much appreciation for the Society’s Arizona and global employees, he explains that the organization makes a concerted effort to keep his staff to a minimum since its focus is clearly on volunteerism.
“If somebody walked in and said ‘I’ll give you a billion dollars to set up an endowment so you don’t have to constantly recruit and train volunteers,’ we wouldn’t take the money. Would we take it for funding our programs? Absolutely! But we wouldn’t accept it if it was solely to hire more employees at the expense of our volunteers.”
It’s this sense of the community that enables St. Vincent de Paul to thrive in Arizona.
Steve describes the Greater Phoenix area, the nation’s fifth largest city, as a place that provides all the opportunities of a large city (education, business community, sports, museums, outdoor activities, etc) yet with a hometown feel and culture that helps him get to know local volunteers, donors, business people and the media better than he could elsewhere.
“I don’t know if I could help secure as many critical business relationships and funds for St. Vincent de Paul if I lived in another city,” he says.
“I am fortunate to know many executives and people from our local business, sports and media industries on a first name basis. My counterparts in other cities are amazed that I can call Bishop Olmstead or the Arizona Diamondbacks and get an answer right away. This just proves that we’re a community of people who really care, comprised of people representing all walks of life.”
And with that, Steve is quite content and honored that he gets to bring people to St. Vincent de Paul campuses, introduce them around, and show them how volunteering and donating can enrich their lives , as well as those of their families and businesses, while helping people in central and northern Arizona who need assistance.
“To see it all unfold; to see a family give up their evening to serve other families in our dining hall; and to see the joy people experience while helping others, it’s such a special blessing. I don’t think I could experience it quite like this anywhere else.”
