Make A Commitment

Over the last 10 years, Common Ground has been building a diverse, powerful constituency. As a member organization, FCC Vallejo is part of this effort to develop the capacity of everyday people to become leaders in our communities. It is hard work, it takes time, and it takes money! But conversation by conversation, action by action, we are building the kind of constituency needed to ensure families have the resources they need to thrive. We cannot do it alone!

Here are our top 10 wins of the last 10 years!
        * Successfully pushed Solano County Supervisors to double the amount of funding allocated to rental assistance in the first months of Covid-19.
        * Co-authored one of the strongest eviction protection ordinances in California.
        * Successfully pushed Solano County Supervisors to approve our proposal to hire additional paralegals to help desperate tenants with eviction paperwork.
        * Researched and met with experts of Civilian Oversight for Police Departments, then wrote an Ordinance for Civilian Oversight of the Vallejo PD, which has been presented to the Vallejo City Council and the Chief of Police.
        * Worked with sister organizations to hold a statewide action with over 1000 leaders, to advocate for more aid for undocumented essential workers.
        * Organized a team of Spanish-Speaking leaders to ensure that this community's needs and stories are represented.
        * Continued building a “Napa Cluster” so we can build membership and gain power in Napa County.
        * Identified and repaired 10 of most dangerous intersections in Vallejo with additional signage and crosswalks.
        * Researched and wrote an ordinance to clean up vacant lots in the City of Vallejo, and worked with the council to pass it.
        * Kept 250 households in Vallejo safe from losing their homes. Common Ground worked with Vallejo City Council to freeze the rent hike, and broker a negotiation with the landlord.

Common Ground has a campaign goal is $20,000. Please consider making a contribution. Your generosity will make a difference in your community by allowing us to grow. To make an investment in this work go to http://www.commongroundiaf.org/donate If you want more info, please let me know!


A Peek At The Garden

From a nursery rhyme: Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With silver bells and…well, in FCCV’s case – beets, carrots, peppers, collard greens, cauliflower, Blue Hubbard squash, green beans, celery, eggplant, asparagus (in process as is rhubarb), potatoes and cucumbers galore, onions, squash, pomegranates and….well, lots of choices! And where does it go? To local food pantries!
 

Some crops worked; some did not. Several of the beds were dedicated to potatoes and we still have remnants of that crop, well, cropping up! Two of the beds were reconfigured into what we call “grid gardening.” Watering is more evenly and easily distributed and that’s a good thing. We experimented with companion planting and learned what didn’t work so well and how we’ll do that better next time. Tall growers like broccoli and cauliflower took the sun away from plants that needed more like carrots and beets, but we figured it out. And, in the blistering, relentless heat we had, the tall growers actually became shade “treelets” and protected plants below – kind of like live umbrellas!
 

Our garden is an adventure in progress – It will be dormant (“lay fallow”) for a few months to rest and be replenished (us too!), which will give us time to do some serious maintenance and make a plan for winter and spring planting. Come be a part of it!