BUCYRUS — After a successful pilot of its program, Crawford Works is pleased to kick off a new awareness and impact campaign to help individuals in Crawford County work their way from poverty to economic self -sufficiency: “One Life at a Time.”

Crawford Works is a non -profit organization started by a group of local business and community leaders to help people find a way out of poverty and to a place of self -sufficiency, dignity, and hope through employment. The program is designed as a “hand up” rather than a “hand out.”

With financial support from The Carter Family Foundation, The Community Foundation for Crawford County, The Crawford Partnership for Education & Economic Development, Hord Family Farms, The Shunk Foundation, and United Way of Crawford County, Crawford Works was implemented as a pilot program to determine whether the program components could be scaled to a community the size of Crawford County, and to determine whether the program would be effective in reducing poverty in our community.

“We’ve had 12 job-readiness workshops with 69 participants, and we can say with confidence that Crawford Works is making an impact,” said Robin Hildebrand, Crawford Works board advisor. “We have a 94 percent work readiness workshop completion rate, and 90 percent of our members have obtained employment. Our impact is proven in our results, but more importantly, it’s proven in the experiences of our members.”

“Crawford Works is about building lasting support through relationships. With help from our local businesses and community members, we can continue to transform our community one life at a time,” said Annie Carter, president of Carter Machine and a Crawford Works employer partner.

Crawford Works is hosting an “Evening of Impact” on Oct. 23 at the Hord Family Farms Community Center to kick off the “One Life at a Time” campaign, to recognize partners and members, and to increase awareness of the organization’s work.

This event is open to the public.

“We encourage our community to invest, to employ, and to act so that we can come together to change lives,” said Pat Hord, Crawford Works board chairman and p resident of Hord Family Farms. “No donation is too small. We are grateful for contributions of time, talent, and resources to continue helping individuals work from poverty to self -sufficiency.”

For more information, contact Crawford Works at [email protected] or call 419-310-4653.