Leanna Crawford Concert Raises Funds for Food Pantry

On Saturday, June 29, the What Cheer Methodist Church welcomed contemporary Christian recording artist, Leanna Crawford to the What Cheer Opera house. It was a memorable concert for young and old. Ms. Crawford is a talented singer/songwriter and has been honing her craft while recording music in Nashville for the past six years. Her stirring melodies and heartfelt lyrics and vocals reveal her sincere faith and stir faith in her listeners as well. 

Ever since her first extended play recording in 2018 of “Crazy Beautiful You,” Leanna’s music has been getting increasingly noticed. Her career continued to flourish as she released one powerful ballad after another. The moving song, “Truth I’m Standing On” brought her a whole new audience as radio station after radio station played it repeatedly and people identified with the tension that often exists between doubt and faith. In recent years Leanna has continued to release songs that speak to real people trying to live their faith in the real world. She also spoke in her music to youth and young adults struggling to find their worth and identity in songs like “Photoshop,” “Mean Girls,” and “Uncool.” But it’s been her recent releases of mega songs like, “How Can You Not,” “Simple,” “Jesus Is,” and the moving, “Still Waters” that has made Leanna’s music commonplace in hearts, homes, radio stations, and churches. 

An entertainer, but also a superb musician and vocalist, Leanna sang and spoke to people of all ages (even closing out the concert with "How Great Thou Art"). Her concert was simply superb. She sang most of her biggest songs, some new stuff, some old stuff, some praise songs, and even a couple hymns. She was funny, personable, welcoming, and inspiring. One person said, “She made me feel like she 

was my best friend.”

The goals for the evening included the promotion of this historic and beautiful venue, the What Cheer Opera House, and to raise awareness of food insecurity in Iowa (which affects 1 in 13 people and 1 in 11 children). 

As much as the concert was memorable, the most miraculous part of the night was that it was a fundraiser for the Tri County Food Pantry (a Community Outreach of the What Cheer Methodist Church). Thanks to a gracious gift from the TIM54 Trust, 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales and concessions went to the renovation and addition to the new Food Pantry site in downtown What Cheer and the ongoing work of the pantry. Currently, the Tri County Food Pantry has two food events per month, serving approximately 150 families from throughout Keokuk County.