Common Ground Board Blog

(Lincoln Square Village, that is. I needed a catchy title.)

There's always this moment before a big work party when I hold my breath and think "Will anyone show up?" And then (most of the time) people start pouring in, and I switch to "can we find something for everyone to do?"

The latter is a much better feeling than the former, and much more common at Common Ground!

Waves of people having been turning out to help with this final push to get the store ready. It's been wonderful to witness, and I feel more certain than ever that our little store is on the right path. Everyone's excited, working together, learning new skills, and getting things done.

Sitting around at 9pm last night eating pizza with those remaining after a night's work setting up shelves, moving pallets, breaking down cardboard, cleaning and filling bulk bins, and caulking the ceiling, I am reminded of how strong our community is, and how special it is to be a part of it.

And like a group of stand-up comedians after a great laugh, we can only say "Thanks a lot! We'll be here all week!"

So please come out and join us again tonight, anytime from 5-9pm. It's a lot of fun, food is provided, and we need a lot of help to get this done.

And to all those that have helped so far: Thank you!

Peace,
-Clint

P.S. Thanks to Daniel Uhlig for the stunning photo from Tuesday's work night.

The relocation is proceeding (beautifully! hectically! stressfully! gloriously!) We're in the midst of making co-op history, and we want to be sure we don't forget how historic this is, and how many people came together to make it happen. So there are two things we'd like you to do.

The first is to send us a photo! We'd like to make a photo collage of people who've in any way helped with this relocation, from digging holes to building walls, making loans and donations, doing demolition work, buying equity, telling their friends about the co-op, carrying boxes, etc. Don't be shy! Send your digital photos to Meagan at meagan@commonground.coop, or drop prints off at the store. We'll also be taking pictures at opening day. We want a beautiful collection to help us all remember this move and the people involved.

We've also set up a local (to Urbana) phone number: (217) 689-4223. We'd like you to call that number and leave a message (or many messages) describing what you love about Common Ground, why you are excited about the move, what good food and community and cooperation means to you, or just anything that comes to mind. We'll take those voices and make an audio collage, which will be available on the website and in the store.

Please help us capture who we are, visually and aurally! 17 days to go!

Thanks,
-Clint
CGFC Board Chair

Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed ice cream with us on Saturday. It was wonderful to chat with members, old and new. And a special thank-you to Pete and Jessy, who made all the yummy ice cream, to Katrina for all the toppings, to the Moore Family for growing scrumptious blueberries, to Lisa for the bowls and spoons, to Ben for getting it all to the park and keeping it cold, and to Jacqueline for running to her house for napkins.

Here are some pictures for those that couldn't make it. What you can't really grasp from these pictures is the first taste of slightly melted home-made ice cream, or the sluggishness felt in the afternoon after eating too much ice cream on a hot day with no lunch. Heaven.

Peace,
-Clint

If anyone picked up the News-Gazette today, they couldn't miss the article on Common Ground. It is incredibly good. I mean, good in that "Oh wow, I want to leave a basket of blueberry scones on the author's porch" way.

There's only one thing wrong with it: the accompanying picture was only of Jacqueline and myself. But we know there's a bigger picture, a picture with hundreds of hands and hearts, past and present, which brought us to this point and are keeping us moving forward. Without all of our members and our dedicated staff, we're nothing. The show of support in our last minute push to wrap up financing (we're so close!) has shown that yet again.

So I've been trying to brainstorm a way to symbolize this, a way to capture what this transition means for our community of food lovers, fair traders, and earth caregivers. I think symbols and celebrations are incredibly important. I feel that the recognition of how meaningful this event is should be translated into how important we are to each other, in the hopes of continuing to build a stronger community.

In 2003, the Berkshire Co-op Market in Barrington, Massachusetts had hundreds of members show up when moving day was at hand, forming a human chain from the old store to the new to move "Groceries across Great Barrington." It left their general manager in tears.

As our old and new locations are 1.2 miles apart, it would take around 1200 people to do the same thing here, which is a bit much to ask on an August day in the midwest. (We'll still need help moving, but we'll use trucks!) So I'm going to throw the question out to you all. How do we celebrate this move?

Bring your ideas to Victory park (seven blocks east of the new space, on Green St.) this coming Saturday the 19th from 1 to 3pm to share ice cream with each other and with your board. Our ears will be open to anything that's on your mind with respect to the co-op these days, and we'd also love to hear your ideas on how to capture the occasion of this move for posterity. A dance? A really big peach pie? A video collage? I'm all ears. (Well, if there's pie involved, I'm not _all_ ears.)

Peace,
-Clint
CGFC Board Chair