John Crawford: Helping Families One Fundraiser at a Time

Helping residents in Guilford and across the shoreline is what John Crawford, chair of Board of Trustees for the Guilford Community Foundation, does best.

"It's the feeling that you get that you really are making a difference, that's the most fulfilling part," John says.

The native of New Haven and current Guilford resident has been involved with several entities over the course of his lifetime. In the past couple months, however, John has kept busy with one notion in mind-helping families in Guilford with fuel assistance. Along with foundations in Branford and Madison, the Guilford Foundation, in collaboration with the town's Social Service Department, is working to raise funds for families who are struggling to pay for their fuel.

"At one of the [joint foundation] meetings someone started talking about the needs that do exist and this fuel initiative popped up as something that was a common denominator for all three towns," John says. "People in each of these towns, in spite of the general perception that towns out here are so affluent that there probably aren't people like that, each of us found that there clearly were hundreds of people struggling.

"It's surprising, so we said, 'Why don't we come together and have a united effort?'" he says.

John realized the importance after learning that the federal government is set to cut funding to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in half this year relative to 2011. Adding to the crisis, Guilford Social Services took 372 household applications for LIHEAP between 2010 and 2011, a jump from the 349 in the previous year.

In an effort to encourage residents to give, the foundation has set a goal to raise $100,000. It has also pledged to match up to $10,000 raised from the community for the cause. The money raised will be distributed by Social Services.

In order to properly get the word out about the enormity of the crisis, several upcoming events will be held. Feb. 14 will be the official Foundations Fuel Families kickoff at the library. The drive will run for four weeks, ending March 19. John plans to be vocal about the increased need throughout the drive.

"In many cases people lost their jobs-this was different in years past. We have people who come to us and say, 'I never thought I'd be in this position'" and for the very first time in their lives need help, John says.

John has helped the foundation organize several fundraisers for various programs, his favorite being a scholarship for Guilford High School students.

"We have a big relationship with the Rotary Club and the Interact Club at Guilford high school. We try to get younger people to understand philanthropy-we've given them a challenge and said if you can raise $5,000 through car washes and other fundraisers, then we'll match that and you'll decide what non profit to give it to and they take that amazingly seriously," he says.

When John isn't busy coming up with the next idea to help his community, he spends time with his wife Catherine of 45 years. He loves spending time with his four children and eight grandchildren especially watch the youngsters play basketball in Fairfield.

John graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in accounting and earned his MBA at Harvard University School of Business Administration. He's had a number of jobs; most recently as the president for Strategem, LLC, since 2003.

For years, John has understood the importance of getting involved in his community. The United Way of Greater New Haven, Tweed New Haven Airport Authority, Guilford Board of Finance, Guilford Housing Authority, Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, Connecticut Special Olympics, Inc., and the Regional Growth Partnership are some of the organizations to which he's lent a helping hand.

In addition to the Guilford Foundation, he's also active with the Webster Financial Corporation, St. Martin de Porres Academy, Albertus Magnus College, and the Central CT YMCA.

John feels blessed that he is in the position to help with these efforts. His outstanding volunteerism has led him to receive a number of awards presented by several different civic organizations including the Distinguished Service Awards as Outstanding Young Man, Distinguished Service Award for Community Service, Knights of Honor, Community Leadership Award, Elms and Ivy Award, Leadership Award, Whitney Medal, Alexis DeTocqueville Award, and most recently, an honorary doctorate in business administration.

He is now gearing up for the fuel drive and can't wait to see outcome of this cause.

"The whole point [of the Guilford Foundation] is to make Guilford a better place, now and into the future," he says.