A Commons cause: Nonprofit starts fundraiser to keep building

A beloved community gathering spot in the heart of downtown Langley is in need of some financial support.

Earlier this month, the South Whidbey Commons launched a large fundraising campaign to pay off a bridge loan to maintain ownership of the building and remodel the kitchen to comply with health code regulations.

The “Save the Commons!” campaign aims to raise a total of $375,000 by January 2025. As of Thursday, $24,232 has been donated, which is about 6% of the goal.

The Commons is a nonprofit organization that provides job training for teens. Since 2008, the lively little cafe on Second Street filled with books has been a space for musicians to jam out, knitting groups to meet, authors to sell their work and kids to hang out, among many other uses.

Cathy Waymire-Rooks, a longtime member of the nonprofit’s board and the current treasurer, said the Commons serves as a third place — a space separate from homes and workplaces — for South Whidbey residents to gather.

“It’s a place they like to go, see their friends, kind of like ‘Cheers,’” she said, “only we can’t serve alcohol, which by the way is one of the reasons it’s hard to break even in a restaurant situation.”

Wendy Cordova, the board’s president, said they owe it to all the people who started the Commons to keep it going.

“We hope not to have to sell our building and have someone lease it back to us,” she said.

The nonprofit’s ownership of the cafe has been a long and rocky journey, complicated by the deed to the building not being transferred, as previously believed, and a lien being taken out against the property.

Once this issue was resolved, the Commons obtained a bridge loan from the Whidbey Community Foundation, which stepped in to reimburse an angel investor who graciously wrote a sizeable check for the nonprofit to pay off its previous debt.

“If it wasn’t for Whidbey Community Foundation, I don’t know where we would be right now,” Cordova said.

Besides paying off the bridge loan, the Commons is also looking to renovate its kitchen, which needs a hood vent and fire suppression system to meet health code standards. Electrical wiring also requires updating.

Cordova estimates that about $25,000 from the fundraiser will go towards the kitchen. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commons received $20,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from Island County, which will also fund the remodel.

For many South Whidbey youth, the Commons has provided invaluable job training. Kids earn high school credits and, in some cases, receive pay.

Board members are in charge of hiring employees, taking on the role of managers. Cordova likes to tell workers that they have five bosses.

“I think of almost all the staff as my kids,” Cordova said, “and I help mentor the ones that need a shoulder to lean on, or maybe they haven’t had the best upbringing, so I also give advice.”

A current employee, Davin McCullough of Langley started working at the Commons while on summer break from college. It’s a place, he said, where many new hires in the Village by the Sea get their start.

“The Commons does a really great job of integrating people who have trouble in their past, issues with their employment or may not be as able as others and gives them an opportunity to build their resume,” he said.

Previous employees have gone on to work with pastries or in cake shops, for example.

A 2011 graduate of South Whidbey High School, McCullough recalls hanging out in the Commons in its early days with his friends after school. Though kids still come by – being open until 9 p.m. on Saturdays as a family-friendly, alcohol-free zone provides a popular evening hangout – it’s a place that has become beloved by the whole community.

“We were adamant that we wanted to keep it what it is, which is an intentional gathering space for all generations to gather, learn and grow together,” Cordova said.

To learn more about the fundraiser or to make a donation, visit swcommonscafe.org/donate. Cordova’s contact information is readily available on the webpage for anyone who may have questions.