St. Paul, Minn. – May 22, 2006 – On May 22, the Minnesota History Center will host a celebration event for the Wilder Foundation to kick off its year-long centennial. The event will highlight some of Wilder’s most important milestones, celebrate the people who made them possible, and look ahead to Wilder’s next century of service.

An Amherst Wilder impersonator, played by a former Wilder executive who bears a striking resemblance to the organization’s founder, will give the celebration a true-life feel as he walks among the exhibits of Wilder’s achievements, past and present.

“Along with Wilder’s 650 dedicated employees, we have many collaborators, donors and sponsors to thank and celebrate,” said Tom Kingston, Wilder’s president. “And in keeping with the Wilder spirit, not only will we celebrate all the great progress we’ve made over the past hundred years, but we’ll also focus on the future and how – together with our partners – we can continue to meet the most pressing social needs of our community’s most vulnerable.”

The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation originated in 1906, funded by the $2.6 million trusts left by a wealthy Saint Paul businessman, Amherst Holcomb Wilder; his wife, Fanny Spencer Wilder; and their daughter, Cornelia Day Wilder Appleby.

In its 100-year history, Wilder has touched the lives of tens of thousands of East Metro residents through a wide range of social service programs designed to meet the pressing needs of the times. Since 1906, the Wilder Foundation has invested more than $300 million in the community.

Each year, Wilder impacts the lives of more than 15,000 individuals. Wilder is one of the area’s largest providers of affordable, supportive housing for low-income individuals. Wilder’s mental health and residential treatment programs help thousands of troubled children and youth who are having serious problems functioning in their homes, schools or communities. One of the first organizations in the country to provide cost effective assisted living services to low-income older adults, Wilder continues to provide services that promote the independence and self-sufficiency of seniors and support for caregivers and families. Committed to removing barriers to academic success for low-income, urban kids, Wilder operates programs that help more than two thousand students per year get a good start in life.

A 1917 Wilder Foundation survey of Saint Paul housing conditions was a catalyst for Saint Paul’s first housing ordinance. Today, Wilder Research continues to conduct studies that drive change in many significant areas of need.

The Wilder Center for Communities works to develop the capacity of neighborhood and youth leaders, and to nurture the creativity and vitality of proven leaders of philanthropic, civic and community-serving organizations.

This year’s centennial celebration will honor the people who made, and continue to make, all of these changes possible, and it will also look forward to Wilder’s next century of community involvement. Among the new developments will be Wilder’s move to a new location. In June, Wilder will break ground for its new 100,000 square-foot facility located on Lexington Parkway and University Avenue, in Saint Paul.

The Wilder Centennial celebration is supported by many Twin Cities businesses and organizations, including Presenting Sponsors, St. Paul Travelers and Comcast; and Premier Sponsors, Pioneer Press and Wells Fargo.

About the Wilder Foundation

The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation is a nonprofit health and human services organization that has served the greater Saint Paul, Minnesota area since 1906. The Foundation operates more than 70 programs that help children succeed in school, troubled youth and families create healthy futures, individuals and families maintain long-term housing, and older adults remain independent. Wilder leadership programs work to nurture and build the skills of emerging community leaders, and to renew the energy and commitment of experienced leaders. Wilder Research, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit research and evaluation centers dedicated to the field of human services, has completed many studies intended to improve the lives of the Twin Cities most vulnerable residents.