Southeastern Wisconsin Common Ground is an organization of organizations, formed over the last three years and officially launched at a Founding Convention in April 2008.  Immanuel Church is a founding member of Common Ground; other members include congregations, businesses, religious groups, unions, non-profit agencies, neighborhood associations, and civic groups.   

     On September 11, 2008, delegates from Common Ground’s member organizations met to discuss a variety of issues that are in various stages of research and action.  Two major issue campaigns include:

• the development of a Health Insurance Cooperative for small businesses (2 - 200 employees), self-employed individuals, and non-profit organizations (2 - 200 employees). The Cooperative is designed to give these groups the power to negotiate more affordable health insurance rates. 
• a youth jobs campaign to enhance the City of Milwaukee’s Earn and Learn program for summer jobs for high school age  youth.  Common Ground is working with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the Milwaukee City Council, private funders, and private businesses to expand the program for MPS high school students from 1,000 to 3,000 jobs by the summer of 2009.

     On October 20, 250 Common Ground leaders attended the City of Milwaukee 2009 Budget Hearing held by the Mayor and Common Council.  The group filled two and one-half of the three sides (over twenty Immanuel members attended).  Five Common Ground leaders eloquently spoke of the need for the Common Council to invest an additional $500,000 into the Summer Youth Jobs program (Rev. Bobby Sinclair, Rev. Rolen Womack, Ken Hanson, JoAnn Craft, and Traven Wilder).    For more information about this issue campaign and the next steps go to www.commongroundwi.org.

     If you have questions or comments you’d like to share, or if you know someone who would like to have additional information about Common Ground, please contact Jean Dow in the church office (414-276-4757) or go to the Common Ground website (www.commongroundwi.org). 

Common Ground is a multi-racial, multi-faith, non-partisan, broad-based alliance of organizations in the greater Milwaukee region (Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha Counties) that is seeking to build collective power to help affect civic and social change.