You may have heard, there’s a new book seller in town and she’s been doing things a little differently. Cetonia Weston-Roy started Niche Book Bar in 2020 with the goal of making Black literature more accessible and, due to the pandemic, she has had to be creative from the start.
MCW’s Syed Ahmed Partners with the Community to Address More than Symptoms
Dr. Syed Ahmed is a long-time physician and academic who has dedicated his career to treating patients through community engagement. He takes time to get to know his patients and determines his diagnosis once he understands their daily concerns as well as their symptoms. Based on years of research at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), he finds it is crucial to learn about his patients’ background and life situation in order to effectively improve their health.
Community engagement is a concept that is becoming more widely used in medical institutions around the country. The idea is that institutions can better improve the health outcomes of people by actively partnering with the communities they are working with. Academics and doctors tend to be removed from the populations they are treating. “What we do in the hospital system is very important and valuable, but it impacts only 20% of the outcome. Eighty percent of the outcome is connected to where the people are coming from,” says Dr. Ahmed.
Devin Anderson Calls for a Liberated Milwaukee
In March of last year, Devin Anderson joined Wisconsin Voices as the Lead Organizer. In that role, he has motivated underrepresented Milwaukee residents to participate in the political system. Wisconsin Voices is an organization dedicated to harnessing the collective voices of citizens by helping them engage in their democracy. When Anderson joined the team, he fit right into a group of strong outspoken individuals. And now Anderson and the team are demanding reform for George Floyd and black lives through their campaign called Liberate MKE.
Michelle Cannon of LarryVille Gardens
Michelle Cannon is the sole owner of LarryVille Gardens, living on her gorgeous 11.5-acre farm in Burlington Wisconsin. On any given day at the farm, you will see her two dogs running around the fields kicking up dirt behind them. Throughout the year, she relies heavily on summer and winter farmers markets which are now closed due to COVID. But she has adjusted her delivery methods and is currently delivering to the Fondy Food Center in Milwaukee and offering pick-up orders at the farm. The hardest part of all this, she says, is the community that she is unable to interact with. For her, the people she gets to meet and talk to are one of the most important parts of her farm.
You can contact Michelle to order produce at www.larryvillegardens.com.
Kinn Guesthouse
As you walk into the entrance way of the Kinn Guesthouse, you’ll find a beautiful open kitchen that faces a large couch, conveniently placed next to a cozy fireplace. As you enter, you instantly feel as though you’ve walked into a close friend’s home. Decorating the wall behind the couch is a broad collection of art displayed in a gallery style. If you look close enough, you’ll find two black and white portraits of men hidden among the colorful bustle of art. These men are the grandfather and father of Charles Bailey, the same men that ran The Drake Hotel in downtown Chicago and The Drake in Oakbrook, respectively. Now that Charles has opened his own guesthouse with his wife Connie Bailey, they thought it fitting to name their business Kinn (adding the extra “n” because the building is on Kinnickinnic Avenue in Bay View).
Originally from Chicago, Charles was a floor trader for years. But as the industry changed, he started looking at other career options. “I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of hotels because I’ve been around them my entire life. I never thought I’d be in the business but it always intrigued me,” says Charles. The couple lived in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood until they decided it was time to move as their son, Quinn was getting older. The family moved their life to Milwaukee and soon after that, found a beautiful brick building in Bay View for sale.
“The building presented itself and our dream started to take shape,” Connie explains. “The concept was all Charles, but we did work together to perfect the idea and execution.” The couple put in a great deal of work to get the building to where it is now. It started out as a masonic lodge then a series of bars and restaurants that didn’t take care of the space. Connie and Charles gutted the entire thing and brought the building back to life, while keeping the original flooring (110-year-old maple) and exposing the cream city brick walls.
Charles was always interested in the idea behind Airbnb and foresees the company changing the hotel industry. “To me, the success of Airbnb means that people care to live in a different way. They want something that feels more like home than the big hotels,” he says. Charles found the perfect mix between that homey concept and the luxury feel of hotels: comfy but not too personal. “Usually you just want to live like you do at home [when traveling],” says Charles. “I didn’t have to prove that concept, I just had to build it.” The idea was to keep overhead low by making the building totally self-sufficient so that Charles and Connie could focus on enriching the rooms as much as possible. When you book a room with Kinn Guesthouse, you receive a code for your room that becomes active the day you check in. When you arrive, your room is ready, there’s community wine in the common room, and if you happen to be there on a Saturday morning, Charles is most likely there to greet you with fresh muffins from Honey Pie (the bakery next door).
Kinn Guesthouse opened in March of this year but it is already very involved with theMilwaukee community. On all the walls in the guesthouse, you will find artwork from local Milwaukee artists that Connie handpicked herself. The exception is the gallery wall in the common room, which is part of Charles and Connie’s personal art collection. Connie plans on swapping the artwork in the rooms to display more local artists. On the Kinn website, you can find links to these artists. Kinn is also working with the restaurant Kindred, located on the first floor of the building. “We are starting to create events that bring local vendors in for conceptual dining experiences,” explains Connie.
Kinn makes it easy for travelers to instantly connect with Milwaukee. Guests can enjoy the luxurious day-lit rooms while feeling like they’re at home with access to a kitchen and a bottle of wine waiting for them on the counter. And the best part is that Charles and Connie take the time to get to know their guests. View their website and take a peek into the Kinn Guesthouse.
View the full blog at www.MKEinFocus.com
Feeding Mouths Filling Minds
We all have those moments when we see a cause that needs attention, and think "I should do something about this," but few of us act on that thought. That's what makes Maria and Grant Groves stand out. After a trip to Kenya, they started the non-profit organization Feeding Mouths Filling Minds in 2012. When Maria was 20, she visited an orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya on a service project that opened her eyes to challenges people face across the world. The widespread poverty she saw stayed in the back of her mind until she finally went back to visit that same orphanage years later with her husband Grant. This visit was different because the couple started talking about land use, how land use could improve food and water, and what the orphanage could do to optimize land use. "That's how the organization got started," says Maria.
FMFM focuses on sustainable food and water sources because if these basic needs are fulfilled, children are "able to turn their attention to filling their minds rather than worrying about filling their bellies," as explained on the group's website. Feeding Mouths Filling Minds has partnered with other organizations to build water wells in Liberia, farm ponds in Kenya, sustainable farming in Sierra Leone and so much more. With Maria's unique skills in networking and business, the organization is able to acquire funding to implement these projects. And with the help of their dedicated team, FMFM ensures that the projects continue to be successful by teaching local people in Africa how to carry out the programs.
Feeding Mouths Filling Minds has also started to focus on their local community in addition to their projects in Africa. They have partnered with Youth Outreach Service in Chicago to build an urban garden for at-risk youth, that will provide local teenagers with healthy food and teach them how to manage their own garden. FMFM is also in the process of launching a global students program that youth groups, teen centers and/or teachers could incorporate into their activities and lesson plans. Under that program, kids would pick an African country to learn about and would complete academic components and required readings focusing on that country. Then the children would choose one of the FMFM projects and would come up with their own ideas to help with funding. The students would be connected with the children they are helping in Africa via email or mail. They would "really own it and be empowered through that entire project,” explains Maria.
So when you think to yourself "I should do something about this," follow FMFM's model and take action. The organization understands that children are our future, both in Africa and at home, and with their basic needs met, they can reach their full potential. Learn more about the organization on their website at www.feedingmouthsfillingminds.com