Volunteer at Common Ground

Volunteers make Common Ground happen! From weeding the garden to tech support to cleaning to cooking and more, there is a way for everyone to get involved! In addition to providing essential support for our operations, volunteering is a great way to deepen your connection to the community.

Sign Up to Volunteer

Fill out our volunteer form to share your general interest and tell us a bit about yourself.

Current Volunteer Opportunities

Contact Gabe at gabe@commongroundmeditation.org if you're interested in any of the following volunteer roles:

Staining small deck at Common Ground's house: As you may know, Common Ground has acquired the house across the alley. The house has a small deck in the back which needs to be resealed before winter time. We're looking for someone who can spend three or four hours to apply deck stain sealer onto it. It's in a pleasant little fenced in yard. You'd be sure to see a few birds and squirrels along with the newly colorful leaves.
Sunday Evening Weekly Practice Group Program Host: For someone who's been coming to the center for at least a year and can move chairs and cushions and be a welcoming presence! Seeking a monthly commitment.
Video Editing: We could use a volunteer to edit and upload dharma talks from Zoom to Youtube.

Donation Wish List

Here are a couple items we are seeking:

Book: The Noble Eightfold Path, by Bhikkhu Bodhi
Medium-sized couch in good to great condition for our retreat center, to replace one already out there

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For other opportunities, please fill out our general volunteer interest form here.

A flowering of volunteers circa 2017.

Building Committee

Our Building Committee keeps the city center working and oversees two annual Cleaning and Maintenance Days, one in spring and one in fall. If you are a handy person and are interested in this kind of volunteering, we can always use more help with little projects! Contact gabe@commongroundmeditation.org for more info.

Pictured, from left to right: Charlie Borden, Gabe Keller Flores, Shelly Graf, Dave Redelman, and Steve Henrich. Not pictured: Jeffrey Swainhart.

Shelley Gregg, Volunteer Registrar

Shelley resides in Illinois and has been a student of meditation since the 1990s. Her primary teacher has been Gil Fronsdal since 2005 and she continues a strong relationship with IRC. Shelley first "found" Mark Nunberg on Dharma Seed in 2007, when she was doing a 2-week self-retreat at a hermitage and had cobbled together her own playlist of dharma talks. Since that time, Mark has been an important influence on her life.

In 2020, when many centers started offering online possibilities, Shelley began to participate in Common Ground's offerings and hybrid retreats. She states that during that first retreat with Mark Nunberg and Shelly Graf, she felt such a strong connection with them that she knew she had finally found her home sangha and continues to feel blessed that this community has "adopted" her. In 2021, she felt called to inquire about the possibility of doing some remote volunteer work and in 2022 began her role which has expanded over the past 3 years. It is her greatest pleasure to talk with and communicate with community members and try to meet their needs. Shelley also co-facilitates an online Kalyana Mitta (Spiritual Friendship) group.

Jenny in the Garden

Office Volunteer Patty

Vacuuming Cushions

Volunteers Eating