Hi there. Welcome to the Somerville Stock report.

Twice a month, I’ll be writing about my community art project, the Somerville Stock Exchange (SSE). The project involves giving people Somerville Stocks based on what they’re doing to make Somerville’s community, creative life, and environment better. All of these things will be included in the project’s printed and online forum. And all of these things affect the “worth” of the different types of Somerville Stocks.

Just like a regular stock market. And just like with a regular stock market, someone will write about why the stocks have changed in value. And that’s what this column is about.

So ... how did Somerville Stocks do in the first half of May?

Community was the big winner this period. It’d seen a sluggish start—Community Stocks only going up about 50 cents each period, and finishing last behind the other kinds of stocks. But May 15th saw all that change. Community Stocks jumped up a whopping $1.40, a 66% increase—to end at $3.51.

This growth was the result of a number of amazing things that were added to the Community Forum. First, someone donated to our partner nonprofit, the Somerville Homeless Coalition. We also found out about Eileen F.’s long battle to make a bank in Union Square accessible to those with disabilities. We heard about Joe B.’s long-standing involvement in local politics and education issues. There was Somerville Voices, which is an online forum about Somerville, which is run entirely by volunteers. Then there was Somerville Moms, another online forum—this one designed for mothers to network and discuss parenting, and which has spawned a number of real-world parenting groups—was named one of the best online resources for parent by a parenting website. The Green Line Expansion also took a few steps forward. First, the city of Somerville began buying property for the expansion. Second, Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization approved $8.1M in funding for the Route 16 Green Line station. (To read more about Community Stocks, click here.)

Arts Stocks petered out a little bit. After a meteoric rise in the first two periods, they only increased $0.30 this period, to end at $4.22. But this rise was fuelled by some amazing stuff: Neil H.’s creativity workshops; an anonymous person’s donation to the Somerville Arts Council; and the annual Somerville Open Studio weekend. (To read more about Arts Stocks, click here.)

Finishing last this period were Environmental Stocks. They’d started well, finishing a strong second previously—but were overtaken by Community Stocks, to finish last this period. But they still did rise in “value”—increasing $0.13, or 4%, to finish at $3.37. This rise was because of a donation to Somerville Climate Action from an anonymous person; and the Somerville Chamber of Commerce’s B2Green showcase and networking event for local green companies. (To read more about Environment Stocks, click here.)

To read more about why Somerville Stocks are “worth” what they’re “worth,” take a look at our online forum.

And ... if you’d like to earn yourself some Stocks, get in touch! You can earn stocks by making a donation to one of our partner nonprofits (Somerville Homeless Coalition; Somerville Arts Council; Somerville Climate Action) and then letting us know about it. Or by sharing something that you’ve done for Somerville in our forum.

Hope to hear from you! And check back on June 1 for the next Somerville Stock Report.

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