Common Ground
After school, every student ends up somewhere.
For many middle and high school students in Huntington Beach’s Oak View neighborhood, those hours can be filled with uncertainty. Some return to crowded or empty homes. Others are helping care for younger siblings, navigating pressure from the streets, or trying to figure out life without a trusted adult beside them. Many are carrying more than they should at their age.
Common Ground exists to give these students something steady: a safe place to belong, adults who know their name, and a path toward life with Jesus.
Our story began in 2013 when we took nine local students surfing. What started as one summer activity grew through the relationships we built. Today, Common Ground provides year-round after-school programs, homework help, cooking and soccer clubs, meals, Bible studies, school clubs, camps, retreats, and unforgettable adventures, all offered at no cost to students and their families.
The activities bring students through the door, but relationships are at the heart of everything we do. Our staff and volunteers show up week after week, creating the consistency students need to feel safe, build trust, and open up. Through those relationships, students receive encouragement, practical support, and the opportunity to experience the love of Jesus in a way that connects with their everyday lives.
This work does not happen overnight. It happens through rides home, meals around a table, help with homework, honest conversations, prayers, and adults who keep showing up when life gets difficult.
Your Giving Day donation helps keep our programs free and makes every part of this work possible—from meals and transportation to camps, supplies, staff, and the daily programs that give students a place to go after school.
When you give to Common Ground, you are helping a young person know that they are seen, loved, and not alone. You are giving them a community they can count on and helping create a different future—one student and one relationship at a time.