CommonBond’s goal was to build the playground in the summer of 2015, but we were still searching for matching funds. Thankfully, Donnie Brown, the Community Affairs Director at the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR), called CommonBond looking for a project they could both donate to, and be a part of. It was the perfect opportunity for their group.

On a brisk and sunny day in October, seventeen MAAR members, several Co-op residents, and some amazing contractors helped build a new playground for Whittier. Dave Philp, President of the MAAR Foundation says.

Our neighbors from Calvary, current and past MAAR leadership, a number of neighborhood businesses, and CommonBond’s CEO, Deidre Schmidt, were on hand to be a part of the transformation.

If your organization or group is interested in being part of a project like this, please let us know. We’ll find the right match between your interests and the needs of our residents. Contact Julia Dangerfield at Julia.Dangerfield@commonbond.org

BUILDING STABLE HOMES, STRONG FUTURES, AND VIBRANT COMMUNITIES SINCE 1971

W I N T E R E D I T I O N

OUR MISSION... OUR STORIES

PRESIDENT’S CIRCLEThank you!We are grateful to our leadership givers who contribute $1,000 or more to CommonBond Communities annually. Your exceptional level of giving and your care and concern for our community is inspirational. The generosity of President’s Circle givers plays an important role in supporting residents’ ability to remain stable and independent in their housing. Current list of President’s Circle members shows those who gave from January 1 through October 15, 2015:

In October we continued our tradition of thanking our leadership givers with an invitation to the President’s Dinner.

DEIDREA season of gratitudeMost of us have so much for which to feel grateful. I personally feel fortunate to do meaningful and challenging work, have supportive friends and family, and my good health. And, unlike 20.7 million renter households nationally, I have a safe and stable home that I can afford. What is on your list?

Did you know that gratitude has been shown in clinical studies to reduce stress, increase a sense of well-being and improve health? Perhaps that makes my saying thank you for your support of CommonBond a bit self-serving? I hope you’ll indulge me - and I can add that to the growing list of things for which I am grateful.

Here at CommonBond we depend on and are so thankful for the support of so many individuals and organizations throughout the year. If you’ve volunteered at an event or created a study buddy relationship, I want you to know that your willingness to make a personal connection communicates respect and personal responsibility in a very meaningful way. For those of you who have provided financial support personally or through your organization, I cannot overstate how thankful we are for these resources, as they allow us to meet the growing need for services and facilities.

I’d like to highlight a new organizational commitment for both financial and volunteer support by Stonebridge Advisors. This financial advisory firm has named CommonBond its inaugural community partner for 2016. I was present at a recent Stonebridge client appreciation event where their President Bob Kincade shared the news. I was honored to hear from many of their clients that CommonBond’s mission to build stable homes, strong futures and vibrant communities was a worthy cause and that Stonebridge’s commitment to us demonstrated values that are important to them.

If your organization is interested in forming a strategic partnership with CommonBond like Stonebridge, or sponsoring and completing a specific project, please let us know. We’ll find the right match between your interests and the needs of our residents. Contact Marilyn Peller Nelson at Marilyn.Peller-Nelson@commonbond.org

WHITTIERWhere community starts

“Where parks start is where communities start, so we’re going to have families playing out here for years to come.”

Jill and Mike HornerKathryn Hubbard Rominski and

Daniel RominskiLori and Ron HumeTony Huot Jr.Jason and Janelle IanfollaBob and Jacqueline JasperJack and Kay JasperTom and Jenny JasperMary L. JenkinsScott and Marjorie JohnsonThomas Joyce and Annette AtkinsMorton and Merle KaneKurt and Kathy KeenaKathleen Kelley and Charles SchafferSarah E. Kline-StensvoldAllyson and Peter KnudsenJohn KnudsenJeff and Erin KoerselmanJim and Sheri KumpGeorge and Carol LangPeter Berrie and Robin LangevinMark and Karen LarsonChris and Lisa LathamDaniel and Karla LoftusBridget Manahan and Joe AlexanderMark I. Manbeck and

Dr. Drew F. SpencerPaul Markwardt and Richard Allendorf Richard and Joyce McFarlandThomas and Susan McGuireThomas and Danalee MerrillSteve MeyerKevin Myren and Jason BestMarilyn Peller NelsonBrian NoreliusCharles and Karilyn Norton

Ben and Sandi AeiltsBarry and Sandy BainesMary and Bryan BennettNoah BlyPeter and Ellen BrownSheila and Bill BrownScott CarlsonJulie and Christopher CauseyBruce and Ann ChristensenDrs. Sue Chung and Scott CooperJeff and Michele DeYoungVicki and Bruce DuncombTodd and Angela EatmonPaul and Ann FateRob and Lori FendlerWade and Claudia FennRobin Ann Williams and

Paul FiliatraultKim Foley and Kent JohnsonBruce FranckDavid and Sandra FrauenshuhDebora and Mike FrodlAlan and Audrey GerhardtAl Giesen and Eileen O’ByrneBrian Gorecki and Cristine AlmeidaJohn GrossAndrew HagenJessie Hendel and John HaggertyCarol HalloranKyle and Shelley HansenLeigh and Jennifer HanthoMichele Harris and Peter TangheEarl HattenThomas and Kristina HauschildDarwin Hendel and Bonnie GrayEllen Higgins and John BrowerBrad and Sandra Hoffelt

Amanda and Christian NovakKevin and Sandra O’BrienEduardo and Susanne PadillaTom and Anne PeacockRita PellerSue and Greg PerkeyAnne and Curtis PetersenMark and Karen RauenhorstCarleen K. RhodesJeremiah RiopelAnn Ruff and John CooperTony and Ann SatterthwaiteKevin ScheelWayne and Deb SchiferlDeidre Schmidt and Dean CrowellDana and Ellen SchnobrichMark ScholtesRonald Smith and Diane AvesWarren and Mary Lynn StaleyTed and Amy StarkBen and Mary StephensArlene Strom-KesselBeth and Timothy SullivanPaul SweenSara Jean ThomsJames and Rita UrbanekRajan and Sunayana VatasseryKaren ViskochilTom Von Sternberg and

Eve Parker Von SternbergHerb and Lori WardRyan WarnerWilliam and Ann Hart WernzRichard and Debra WickaLisa Wilcox-Erhardt and Steve ErhardtYvette and Jamie WoellSteve Youngs

The inception of the Whittier playground began in early 2014, when leaders from Calvary Church, located across the street from CommonBond’s Whittier Cooperative in Minneapolis, met with Property Manager, Alyssa Kiffmeyer, to talk about how to interest families in their new tutoring program and engage more people in the neighborhood. One of the things Whittier residents had wanted for many years – a playground – was shared with the group. The Calvary board realized what a playground could provide for the 100+ young CommonBond residents and neighborhood children and committed a $10,000 matching gift challenge for the project.

WINTER 2015

than five hundred who were chosen to move into CommonBond’s Lexington Commons Community for formerly homeless individuals. He was tired of being broke, sick, and disrespected by others. But most painful, he didn’t respect himself. He credits the staff at Lexington Commons for giving him the strength he needed to get sober and stay sober. “They supported me as I began to understand the shame and grief I have for what I’ve done and the life I’d been living, and change my behavior to look forward to the life I live now.”

Today, Faron volunteers doing recovery work. He checks in with others reclaiming their lives to offer support and understanding. He writes poems and songs, and invests his time and money in music and helping others, rather than doing drugs. After three years as the secretary of the Resident Council at Lexington Commons, he just began his term as President. Lexington Commons and Faron both proudly celebrated their respective five year anniversaries this fall, and Faron says, “Now I am someone who follows through. I am honest and empathetic, and not a fool on the street.”

MEET SHUKRI AND CAITLYNA unique relationship

Meet Shukri and Caitlyn. The two have been together in our Study Buddy program since Shukri was in 8th grade. Shukri is seventeen years old and has lived in the US since she was nine. She is a very polite young woman, with a quick wit and the ability to speak four languages. She is a senior at Southwest High School and is taking mostly International Baccalaureate classes thanks to her hard work in the Study Buddies program. “My dream is to be a pediatrician”, says Shukri with an ear-to-ear grin. She explains that in Kenya where she grew up, there are so many diseases and the doctors are struggling. They don’t have time to worry about little things. When I see little kids, I see my future!”

FARON HANESThe man I was meant to be

A Study Buddy pair is a unique relationship. In the end, it is not just the mentor helping a child with their homework; they help each other. When asked what she likes about Study Buddies, Shukri replied, “Getting my homework done and having fun while doing it. I like vocabulary and the word dictionary part the best. And, after we are finished with homework, we talk about Somali music and my culture. It’s also great if you want straight A’s.”Caitlin says,

“The time commitment is small for the impact you can have on someone’s life.”

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Faron Hanes is a lucky man. He won the lottery. Upon first glance, you might not consider him lucky at all. Twenty eight years ago, he was working as a professional carpenter and took a 30 foot fall and broke his neck. It took a year for doctors to fully diagnose the problem and perform surgery, but in the interim, in order to combat his chronic pain, he became addicted to the opiates he had been prescribed. Struggling with abuse and out of work, he spent the next three years moving around from one transitional housing space to the next.

Faron ended up in prison for two years, and it was there that he realized he had an opportunity to work on his destructive behaviors. Soon after his release, he was one of fifty people in a lottery out of more

OUR MISSION... OUR STORIES

“This is my community. This is my home.”

BETTY’S STORYA lifetime of giving

“We give to organizations that are doing good in the community. Families can’t always do it all themselves. They sometimes need help. And that’s something I can continue to do.”

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Betty and Henry Ernst have been giving to CommonBond for more than eighteen years. Both recently celebrated their 90th birthdays, and although they currently live in their own home, that will soon change. Betty expressed “We just can’t do it by ourselves anymore.”

Throughout her life Betty was inspired by both her own mother and Henry’s mother. Her mother emigrated from Sweden and did not speak a word of English. She always felt her parents were very brave to leave everything behind to make a better life for their family. She also recounted a

story about Henry’s mother volunteering with the Red Cross making donuts for the troops. “Our parents taught us so much about taking care of others.”

When asked why they choose to support CommonBond, Betty said she is impressed by the good work CommonBond does. “Many people in our community come from challenging family situations that don’t provide the support that many others take for granted,” she said. “When I was younger I was active in politics and volunteered for things in which my children participated. I have always believed we need to help others.” At ninety, she isn’t able to volunteer like she used to, so she has committed to helping in a different way.

Please Save the Date for CommonBond Communities’ 18th Annual GrandeGala

Friday, April 1st at the Hilton Minneapolis