Read all about us!
February 2012 – Building on Common Ground
A newsletter to inform, update and keep you involved.
Forward it, print it and come back again for another look!
Each month a new Building on Common Ground will be produced and distributed to all our member organizations along with being posted on our website and our facebook page!
On Thursday, January 19th Alderman Murphy, Common Council President Hines, Bishop Miller and leaders from Common Ground including Frank Finch III, Toni Wagner, Mary Leach-Sumlin and other Milwaukee Rising Team members came together to celebrate Milwaukee Rising in one of our rehabilitated homes ready for sale at 2402 N 46th Street.
Press Conference From Common Council President Hines office
What began in 2008 with knocking on doors asking the residents what they would like to see improved upon in their neighborhood is now being solidified with the goal of rehabilitating 100 homes in four years and getting them into the hands of responsible home owners committed to the stabilization of the neighborhood. It’s also being realized in the plans for bringing 180 Properties to the Milwaukee Area. They will hire local community members who will secure and oversee the up-keep of the foreclosed properties in Milwaukee.
Three homes have sold, six have been rehabilitated and 21 more are in the pipeline. We are well on our way! Thank you to our partners, the Sherman Park Community Association, City of Milwaukee and Zilber, Ltd.
COMMON GROUND BACKGROUND
Southeastern Wisconsin Common Ground is a multi-county organization of diverse religious, labor, non-profit, education, and small business organizations dedicated to serving as an alliance which acts with power in the public arena for the common good. Common Ground is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization directed by a team of leaders from participating institutions and a professional organizing staff. Common Ground is affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), the oldest and largest community organizing network in the United States with 63 affiliates in the USA, Canada, England and Germany.
PURPOSE
Common Ground works to make a major impact on the critical social and economic issues facing Southeastern Wisconsin. Changing these realities requires new leaders with the energy and vision to make this happen. We invite you to become a part of this new effort.
REGISTER TODAY
Organizations interested in joining together to tackle the tough problems facing all of us and strengthening their own base at the same time should send a team of leaders to the 2012 CGU.
DESIRED OUTCOMES
• To strengthen the leadership capacity and culture of participating organizations
• To teach leaders the skills necessary for successful public action
TOPICS
• WHY ORGANIZE? The history, traditions and values of our religious and secular organizations
• HOW TO ORGANIZE individual relational meetings, listening sessions, research, negotiations and action
• HOW TO STRENGTHEN our institutions. Intentionally engaging people in a relational, action-oriented and reflective culture
• HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE between general problems and concrete, winnable issues
• HOW TO NEGOTIATE for the common good
RSVP HERE if you are interested in signing up for Common Ground University. We will inform you when our next class scheduled is announced.
Come and see what the Milwaukee Rising project is doing in the Sherman Park Neighborhood. See the houses that are being rehabilitated and the beautiful work that is being done. You will visit houses that have been rehabbed and are ready for sale, houses that are in the process of getting ready for sale and a home that has yet to begin it’s facelift. Learn about what it takes to become a homeowner of one of these ready-to-move-into and get to living homes.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 the Italian Community Center was alive with over 300 people attending the Voter ID Educational Event for Seniors sponsored by the Milwaukee County Department on Aging and Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele. There were many vendor stands lining the halls and among them our own Common Ground representatives, Rod and Sharon DePue, Jeff Jordan and Carla Ernst who answered questions, gave out literature and introduced Common Ground to those passing by.
Read all about us!
keep you involved.
Each month a new Building on Common Ground will be produced and distributed to all our member
organizations along with being posted on our website and our facebook page!
Read all about us!
keep you involved.
Each month a new Building on Common Ground will be produced and distributed to all our member
organizations along with being posted on our website and our facebook page!
“You can’t change the world unless you have strong organization and a broad diversity of people who understand how to fight for power.”
- Bob Connolly, Interim Volunteer Staff Director for Common Ground
Meet the first home buyer for our Milwaukee Rising project! A lot people and many years of hard work have gone into our foreclosure campaign. It’s not over yet, we have a lot more work to do, but we’re on our way!
Read all about us!
A newsletter to inform, update and keep you involved.Each month a new Building on Common Ground will be produced and distributed to all our member organizations along with being posted on our website and our facebook page!
The Greater Milwaukee area has much to offer — and much to fix. We have a health care crisis, there aren’t enough jobs, and crime is out of hand. We created Common Ground to address these critical social issues. Our members come from all races, religions and political backgrounds, but we share a common mission: To replace despair with hope in our community.
