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.

Fox 6 – Milwaukee Rising

TMJ4 – Milwaukee Rising

Marquette Tribune 

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.

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.

RSVP HERE if you are interested in attending and we will inform you when the next tour will begin.

Common Ground gives Milwaukee, Marquette an opportunity to reinvest in communities (Click HERE to read story)

“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

Common Ground marks first sale of foreclosed, rehabbed house (read all about it here!)

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!

Please tune your radio to Milwaukee’s NPR affiliate 89.7 WUWM at 10am tomorrow (Tuesday 10/18) morning to listen to our education team interviewed on Lake Effect!

You can either listen live or find it in the archive. You can also subscribe to the Lake Effect Podcast here.

Do you have children in school in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington or Waukesha Counties? Do you work or volunteer in a school in these areas?

If the answer is ‘yes’, please help us by filling out this brief survey. This will help us better understand the membership body and build relationships and credibility within the education system.

You can find a link to the survey here.

Please join us for our next meeting:

Great Schools
Tuesday, September 27th
6:30 – 8:00 PM

First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee (First Church)
1342 N Astor Street, Milwaukee (SE corner of Astor & Ogden)

Meeting is on 2nd floor in Otto Hall.  Enter through the green-glass doors just south of the sanctuary, follow the hallway to the end & take stairs or elevator.

Parking: Lincoln Center School (one block west at Ogden & Marshall) parking lot.  There is no parking lot at the church, some on-street parking may be available.

GreatSchools is the country’s leading source of information on school performance. With listings of 200,000 public and private schools serving students from preschool through high school and more than 800,000 parent ratings and reviews, GreatSchools has become the go-to guide for parents aiming to make a smart school choice.  Check out their website HERE.

RSVP HERE

Child Care is available, please click here to RSVP so we ensure we have a space for your child(ren).  $5 for two kids with an additional $3 for more children.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS IN THIS SERIES:

8/9/11 – Abby Ramirez, co-founder of Schools That Can which identifies high performing schools across the country and share best practices to create more high performing schools in the Milwaukee are which include public, choice and charter.  Their vision is to get 20,000 students in high performing urban schools by 2020.  Click HERE to go to their website.

7/21/11 – Leigh Anne Fraley, Senior Site Advisor for Talent Development spoke about The New Teacher Project, a national non-profit dedicated to closing the achievement gap by ensuring that high-need students get outstanding teachers.

5/31/11 – Alan Borsuk, Longtime Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter and Senior Fellow in Law and Public Policy, at Marquette University Law School.

Leader to Contact: Keisha Krumm, Lead Organizer:  Email

Check out our listing of
Milwaukee Rising
renovated homes for sale in the
Sherman Park Neighborhood!

See a complete and updated listing of the homes we have finished and that are ready for sale here.

US Bank has met with Mayor Barrett and Alderman Murphy and brought this deal for the City to the table.  Common Ground brought US Bank to the table and continues to negotiate for our Milwaukee Rising Campaign.  Read the article from Georgia Pabst.

Journal/Sentinel front page Local Section, August 11, 2011

Other groups and organizations are picking up on our success.

Read more about it on the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter HERE.

Wisconsin Group Works with Banks to Address Symptoms of Foreclosure. Read Now.

“One group, however, is taking a very different approach. Southeastern Wisconsin-based Common Ground has been confronting banks directly, asking them to step up and take responsibility for their hand in the foreclosure nightmare sweeping the state. Common Ground’s persistent efforts have already garnered huge benefits for Milwaukee residents.”