Creating Flourishing Neighbourhoods
Most new graduates have other things on their minds than running for city council, but Jeff Czetwerzuk’s love of his hometown—and of people—made it an easy decision for him.
“I graduated with my Honours Bachelor of Social Work degree from Lakehead in June 2022,” Jeff says, “and ran for Orillia City Council in September 2022 because municipal governments deal with issues that affect residents’ quality of life and I wanted to stay connected to my community.”
“Dr. Les Fleisher’s course ‘Introduction to Social Work’ really opened my eyes to what university could be,” Jeff says. “It was theory based, but you had to take your skills beyond the bookwork. It showed me just how good my Lakehead education would be.” Above, Jeff volunteers at a community event.
His boundless enthusiasm won over Orillians.
“Early in the campaign, a constituent told me that they decided to vote for me after they saw me knocking on doors in the pouring rain when no other candidate was.”
Jeff combines his city council duties with his job as a support worker at Empower Simcoe—a non-profit organization that enables adults with intellectual disabilities to live on their own. “I assist them with finances, groceries, and other everyday things to help them maintain their independence,” he says.
Being there for others comes naturally to Jeff, and he’s been an active volunteer for scores of events, causes, and community initiatives since childhood.
“In elementary school I began volunteering with the Special Olympics bowling team,” Jeff says, “and I later coached the team and travelled with them to tournaments.” His Special Olympics experience was one of the reasons that Jeff completed a Child and Youth Care diploma at Georgian College before studying at Lakehead, although getting a university degree wasn’t something he’d planned to do.
“I never thought I’d go to university because no one in my immediate family had ever gone,” he says, “but I did really well at Georgian and I wanted to increase my knowledge of social work.”
At Lakehead, his community service work didn’t slow down. He joined the Lakehead University Student Alumni Association and the Lakehead Mental Health Outreach Team.
In between Jeff’s university studies and campus work, he volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Black Light youth theatre, raised money for Toronto SickKids hospital by competing annually in the Extra Life 24-hour gaming marathon, and became the president of Rotaract Orillia—a Rotary International club for young people.
“One of our Rotaract club’s highlights was a Halloween food drive called ‘Trick or Eat’ that collected 1,000 pounds of food for a local food bank. It was fantastic to see the response from Orillia.” For his social work studies, Jeff completed placements with The Lighthouse homeless shelter and with Simcoe Muskoka Family Connections as a child protection worker.
His impressive volunteer work has continued since his Lakehead graduation, and Jeff can be seen at many local fundraising events and activities. In his role as city councillor, Jeff is happy that he’s been able to advance his commitment to affordable housing.
“We just built the county's Orillia Campus Project. It’s a large building with over 130 mixed units and services on the bottom floor that help residents stay socially connected. People who’ve moved in have told me how excited they are to have safe affordable housing.”
“It’s very rewarding to see things come together to create a positive solution.”
“As well as affordable housing, I’m passionate about improving access to medical care, increasing physician recruitment, and better traffic calming in residential areas to keep neighborhoods safe,” Jeff says.
