St. Paul, Minn. – June 12, 2006 – As part of its centennial celebration, the Amherst Wilder Foundation broke ground today for its new 100,000 square-foot facility located on Lexington Parkway and University Avenue, in Saint Paul. This year, Wilder is commemorating its 100th birthday with a year-long celebration that highlights some of Wilder’s most important milestones, honors the people who work with Wilder to make Saint Paul communities stronger, and looks to Wilder’s next century of service.

"The new Wilder Center will greatly improve our ability to serve more clients,” said Tom Kingston, Wilder’s president. “The Center will also bring 350 employees and many visitors to the area, contributing to the economic revitalization of a key intersection in Saint Paul.”

Designed and built by green standards, the new facility underscores Wilder’s leadership in human services and environmental sustainability. At the groundbreaking, Wilder representatives also emphasized their respect for the site’s heritage as a central part of Saint Paul history. “We are proud that our new facility is the former site of the Lexington Park baseball field, home of the original St. Paul Saints,” said Kingston. Saint Paul Saints president, Mike Veeck handed a home plate to Kingston during the groundbreaking, representing the symbolic transfer of the site to Wilder.

“I’ve always believed that anything is possible, especially if the spirit of the organization is positive and strong,” said Veeck. “Celebrating one hundred years of service to the communities in Saint Paul, Wilder is proof of that belief. We at the Saint Paul Saints are proud to welcome Wilder to its new home.”

The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation originated in 1906, funded by a $2.6 million trust left by wealthy Saint Paul businessman, Amherst Holcomb Wilder; his wife, Fanny Spencer Wilder; and their daughter, Cornelia Day Wilder Appleby. The Wilder family wanted to create a charity that would assist the most vulnerable of Saint Paul’s citizens.

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.

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. Wilder 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.