Crawford working to increase number of volunteers

Volunteer work always has been near and dear to Megan Crawford’s heart.

Formerly from Charles City, Crawford recalls taking a number of service trips in college. She spent time as an teaching assistant teaching English in Malaysia and has always enjoyed volunteering her time in a number of ways.

So when the opportunity arose to become the executive director for the United Way of Jasper County, Crawford jumped at the chance.

“I knew coming into it it would be a great organization to work for,” she said. “I felt like it would be a great fit for me to have that as my job.”

Crawford was living with her husband in Grinnell, where she worked as a life coach, helping individuals with goal-setting and support — a proactive form of psychology. Her background is in psychology. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Loras College and a master’s degree from Ball State.

Crawford began work at her new job on July 26. Now she’s busy overseeing a needs assessment for the United Way to ascertain the level of need for charitable funding throughout the community. Despite the loss of Maytag and the downturn in the economy, Crawford is confident that the United Way will hit its fundraising goal.

“Jasper County is a very generous county, and I’m really hoping they see the need,” she said. “We’re staying optimistic.”

Beyond being a fundraiser, Crawford hopes to have the United Way become an epicenter for volunteerism, something she sees as key to bonding the community together for a common good.

“If we care about the community, then we need to help out in the community,” she said. “It makes a better community and better citizens when we’re more community-minded instead of just focusing on ourselves.”

Andy Karr can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 434 or via e-mail at akarr@newtondailynews.com.