What's In It For Me?

The statistics exist. Young adults and young professionals are underrepresented in our community.

The majority of people who have engaged in Crawford: 20/20 Vision community meetings thus far are over 50 years old or have lived in the county well over 20 years.

The reasons as to why this is are impossible to define. Maybe most young professionals have been away at college from March to June when the Vision meetings have been held. Maybe the more seasoned members of the community have more initiative to participate in this type of forum. Maybe young people don’t feel anyone will listen to them. Maybe they don’t see what’s in it for them.

No matter the rationale, there’s plenty in it for young people – and for everyone else for that matter. Crawford: 20/20 Vision is not a scheme based on political motivation or a mere attempt to make it seem like at least someone is trying.

Crawford: 20/20 Vision is a project that has been developed to make Crawford County a better place – to make young people want to move here after college – to bring jobs and empower people to take hold of their future -- to ensure a higher quality of life for all ages – and to decrease the growing crime and drug statistics to build a safer home.

There’s a reason the Vision initiative uses no tax dollars: it’s not a political project and the money that has been contributed by the following organizations is for you – to enable you to make a difference. The private funders of the project (Bucyrus Area Community Foundation, Ohio Mutual, WBCO/WQEL, AEP, the Arthur J. Freese Foundation, the Carter Family Foundation, WyseSolutions, LLC., and the Walter R. Hessenauer Charitable Trust) believe in a better future for the county.

This is the opportunity of a lifetime.

If you are a young professional who would rather move elsewhere because of the lack of job, entertainment, or housing options – but would hate to move away from your family – now is your chance to change Crawford County into a place where you can envision yourself succeeding.

Imagine living in Crawford County and being able to take pride in the place you live as a young professional. It’s possible, and the key is your engagement in this process. Crawford: 20/20 Vision has worked diligently to make this project accessible to all ages via our online communication strategy.

The ball is in your court, and Crawford: 20/20 Vision is on your team. You can make a huge difference for yourself and your community – just voice your opinion on Facebook, read and share one of our blogs, take one of our Survey Monkey surveys, e-mail us your ideas, sign up for the e-newsletter, or look through and learn more on our main site.

We referenced the wise words of Gandhi once, and we’ll reference his words again: “you must be the change you wish to see in the world.”