Common Ground Fund

It is with humbleness and determination that we are raising money to help fund the future of Common Ground Middleton. As a business I am proud to say that we are slowly growing & evolving, but without ever having gotten a formal loan, and being that we are a small family owned business, we are still catching up from all of the start up costs for equipment, repairs of our beautiful old building (circa 1930!) and supplies. All while trying to ensure that we can pay our staff above the industry norm and well above minimum wage. This is the crowdfunding that I had intended to run at the beginning, but was too proud to put out into the universe. But alas, I am determined to continue our mission and I feel I can now show exactly what it is that Common Ground is all about ❤️

We have come so far, and offered so many amazing workshops, discussions, live music, art classes, support groups, fundraisers and also just strive to be a day to day comfortable and welcoming place for community members to gather over local food & drink, board games, great music and events.

Here are just a handful of the events and happenings we have had over the last 6 months:


Happening for the Homeless, July 2018 - Raising money for Porchlight Madison, an organization that helps find housing, employment and other resources for people in need

A community graduation party and fundraiser for a local student who lost both of his parents this year. 100% of ticket sales went to the student and his family

A Girl Scout workshop to help some scouts earn their "Common Ground" badge

We hosted the high school's Middleton Dance Team's end of the year banquet and ceremony


The Common Ground staff has received Dementia Friendly training, and hosted a "Make a Memory: Dementia Friendly Day" event, will have monthly "Memory Cafe" sessions with support staff to help those with dementia through the ordering and meal process, and hosts a monthly caregiver support group

We have hosted many meetings and events for Madison Area Parent Support group, including the 2018 "Climb out of Darkness" walk to raise awareness of perinatal mood disorders and raise money toward resources and community education on the topic

In July, we hosted an event called "MidWest Waterfest" to raise awareness about the importance of clean water and environmental awareness. The event featured  guest speakers and information from the clean water alliance, family farm coalition and many other organizations, as well as information tables and live music throughout the entire day.

Common Ground is committed to changing the way restaurants impact the earth.  All of our disposable to-go containers, straws, bags, hot and cold cups, lids and portion cups are made of compostable/biodegradable materials.  These options are more expensive than traditional plastics, but we are hoping to start a trend among restaurants to curb the use of single-use plastics

In March we hosted a "Women's Wellness Day" with informational booths, resources and discussions on the importance of women's health and wellness

In June we hosted a weekend long event called "The Great Summer Read" where we hosted appx 20 local novelists, fiction and nonfiction authors, publishers & children's book authors for readings, panel discussions and workshops to promote their work and support writing and literacy in the community

All of our cafe bakery items are baked in house, and we try to be accommodating to those with allergies and various dietary restrictions.  We offer gluten free, nut free bakery, are a peanut free facility and have completely gluten free Friday fish fry every week

We are host to a bi-weekly jazz workshop where students and learning musicians can learn from the pros, and then play with the on stage in our dining room

Just a sample of some of our musical offerings:






Some other ways we are impacting the community:

-Depression & Anxiety Peer Support Group Meetings
-Book Clubs
-Writers Group In person and online offerings
-Supporting local musicians
-Board Game Nights
-Dads and mens group meetings
-Women's and mom groups
-Children's Activities and restaurant play areas (indoor and outdoor)
-Many various Social Groups
-Pay what you can events like yoga, prenatal yoga and wellness, art workshops, Mindfulness walks in the conservancy, and more
-Many free events hosted by amazing members of the community who want to share their knowledge and skill
-Improv Comedy shows
-Offering meeting space for many organizations like Girl Scouts, the Madison and Middleton School districts, Middleton Players Theatre, Middleton Action Team (MAT), Community Advocates for Public Education (CAPE), The Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy (FOPB), etc
-We have recently began working with a local organization to place those with special needs in employment here at Common Ground, as well as offering student internships and job shadow experiences for students wanting to learn more about the industry and entrepreneurship in general

Thank you so much for reading and for helping to support a small business with a big dream of building community, raising awareness and being the change we want to see in the world <3

To follow along with our events, and learn more of what we are all about, check out our website and follow us on facebook:

commongroundmiddleton.com

facebook.com/commongroundmiddleton

Sincerely,
Adrienne Hulburt-Stroud
Owner/Events Coordinator- Common Ground Middleton