COMMUNITY

• Developed The Collective community program holding sharing events in local and rural areas to receive FREE critical care items for people and pets: Elgin/IL Summer Seniors, Southern IL 2021, Elgin/IL Holiday Seniors 2o21, Waukegan Homeless Soup Kitchen 2021, Mount Prospect/IL 2022, Cairo/IL 2022, Rural MO 2022, Rural IL/TN/KY 2022, Cairo/IL Collective 2023, Missouri Collective 2024.
• Gathered and distributed hundreds of boxes of blankets into shelters and community. i.e., 365 Blanket-Box giving program.
• Supported vulnerable community members with tents/PADS/meals, pet emergencies, spay/neuter, rehoming of pets as well as community resource aid from local charity partners.
• Gathered over 280K pounds of food, personal care items, pet aid and household supplies to distribute back out across 17 states.
• Showed up routinely with community supplies in 2022-2023 for; Holy Family Soup Kitchen in Waukegan/IL, The Howlers of Southern Illinois, The Dog Pound of Fulton/KY, South Fulton TN Dog Pound and others.
• Attended 2021 Red Cross Tornado Disaster event with Purple Manatee.
• Provided craft aprons and activity blankets to schools across IL.
• A dedicated source for environmental reuse across IL and beyond. Our Collective program shifts goods headed to landfills into the hands of those in crisis.

Check Us Out:

• 5 Non-Profits To Get Behind in the Elgin Area | Elgin, IL Patch
• Autohaus on Eden Charity Contest Winner, July 2024
• Charity Navigator
• Facebook
• GoFundMe
• Golf Rose Animal Services Lost & Stray Hold Partner, Schaumburg, IL
• Google Profile
• GREAT NON FOR PROFITS
• GuideStar
• Instagram
• Max and Neo Rescue Donation Recipient
• PayPal Giving Fund
• People In Need Forum Directory [2024]
• Petfinder
• Purple Manatee Tornado Victim Event
• The Morton Arboretum, Tails on the Trails, 2024 event
• The Collective in Mount Prospect, IL with Northwest Compass
• YouTube

ADVOCACY

• Advocate for invisible communities in crisis such as Elgin/Crystal Lake/Cairo [IL].
• Hosted The Collective events across IL, see Community impact.
• Social Media Pet Stewardship content tips and guidance.
• Pet First Aid resources available at all hosted events.
• Shared critical aid with Seniors, Veterans and Homeless members.
• Network for rural community visibility and engagement.
• Attended 2022-2024 People in Need Forum in McHenry/IL, Taste of Des Plaines 2023- 2024, 2023 Crystal Lake/IL Car Show, 2023-2024 The Morton Arboretum Tails on the Trails, 2024 FIBS Festival in Des Plaines/IL.

Common Acts:

RESCUE

• Saved over 1,180 lives via shelters, strays, rehoming, lost, medical or rescue transfer.
• Rescued over 225 lives under Common Ground as temporary fosters, adoptables or community member support to keep pets in homes.
• Saved Calli Lily in Northern IL after living in an abandoned shed for over 1.5-years.
• Saved 4 dogs living in a vehicle in extreme heat without proper resources. 3 were rehomed under Common Ground.
• Altered 24 dogs/cats for community members in crisis.
• Gathered, maintained and delivered pet resources to shelters and rural communities across 4 states.
• Worked directly in partnering with IL, MO, KY and TN rural shelters/pounds to access food, cleaning supplies and rescue support.
• Held rescue and adoption events across IL and WI.

EDUCATION

• Attend local community forums to educate public on keeping Pets in homes and support layers.
• Provide pet stewardship content via our website and social media portals.
• Take-away pet guides available at our in-person events.
• Pet First Aid education available with magnet at each event.
• Youth Pet Program launching in 2025 focusing on Youth, Pets, Charity & Compassion.
• On-line resource database forum to launch in 2025.

Rescue Impact:

E-MAIL OUR TEAM if you have a desire to join our mission and see a way to be involved in expanding your community imprint. We are standing by and eagerly excited to meet you! Reach out and learn more on how we can blend our paths.

DONATIONS & GIVING

Help us collect donations from donors who have connected to bring some extra support our way. Driveway placements have been the new COVID norm for mask-less pick-ups. After pick-up we bring over to one of our storage units to coordinate and inventory. Finally, we pack and prep boxes as well as set up life-saving support packages for our community / rescue drives. All volunteer meet-ups are masked and social distancing is followed as possible. We have enough room to spread out and we some of our core team has already been vaccinated.

GRANTS & FUNDRAISING

Help us secure available grant money that could be applied toward some of our C.A.R.E. endeavors we are developing such as: Spay / Neuter Mobile pop-up clinics, Shelter Improvement & Medical Improvement Series, Community Aid pop-up events and our favorite ‘Budding Hearts of Hope’ Youth Program. And, seeking those rare flowers with a hidden talent for finding funds through fundraising endeavors. Seeking financially creative individuals who have the ability to bring new dollars into our organization to help us continue to maintain as well as grow our 4 core pillars of Common Ground philosophy. This is the one area of our organization which we are in dire need of support to bring in critical money since we are a non-for-profit organization.

ADVOCATE & EDUCATE

We advocate for the people, places and pets that time forgot. Help us gather and share community action items that bring best practices, guidance and stewardship to those in need of a better way to walk through life. Bring professionals and key individuals to a forum where others can here their knowledge. Join our Youth Mentorship program aimed at bringing community connections back in front of our young ones.

NETWORKING & PARTNERSHIP

Help us plug into community so we can be a better voice for those without one. We seek to consistently connect, integrate and partner with private, corporate or public sectors to network the critical core C.A.R.E. strategies we develop.

TRANSPORTS & PICK-UPS

Help us drive the miles spreading community and rescue hope. Use your own vehicle for local or we will rent for longer drives. Pick up a animal rescue transport leg by driving a life we have saved from one location to another. We provide all supplies needed.

YOUR TIME & VOLUNTEERING

Volunteer your time with our small, core team with community support connecting as well as communicating with community members, corporations / organizations and rescue partners. Help us continue to show our transparency through marketing, social media updates, blogging and advocacy materials.