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Wilder's Campaign for Families

Building a stronger Saint Paul, one family at a time.

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We are on a mission to transform the support families need to be stable, healthy and strong.

We are listening to the people who come through our doors. We trust them to tell us what they need. Together, we are exploring options, accelerating solutions, and helping people be agents of their own change. Our distinctive approach means we look for ways to help an entire family however people define what their family means to them. That approach ensures no one falls through the cracks. At Wilder, families get what they need—in one place. This is the Wilder difference.

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We Reached the Goal Because of You!

Graphic showing a line of people silhouettes, beneath them an arrow pointing to the right and the text $17 Million!

Thanks to many generous donors and funders, we have raised $17,200,000 of our $17M goal. To date, your support of this campaign has made possible:

  • The addition of 15 new sites for our school-based mental health services
  • The distribution of campaign and COVID-relief funds to support housing stability for 587 families
  • The participation of 300 families in our community wealth-building initiative.
  • The implementation of a whole-family service model throughout Wilder. 

While we are excited about our progress so far, we’re not done quite yet. Every dollar we raise through the Campaign for Families means more: more services reaching more people for more impact.

To learn more about Wilder's Campaign for Families, contact: 
Michelle Morehouse, Vice President of Advancement
michelle.morehouse@wilder.org651-280-2447

Why we must build a stronger Saint Paul

39% of people live in poverty in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
That's 2 of every 5 residents in the city.

An estimated 1 in 5 young people need support for their mental health, and people of color are much less likely to have access to therapy and mental health care.

34% are cost-burdened households who pay more than a third of their income for a house in Saint Paul.

Here's how we plan to build a stronger Saint Paul, one family at a time:

Stabilize Thousands of Families

By providing easier access to services and support for the heavy financial burden of housing, we can stabilize families, reaching them before they’re in crisis and caught in a web of expensive interventions. With your support we will address the complex needs of families in the areas of housing, mental health and wealth building, serving 10,000 families over five years and helping 1,500 families stay housed.

Goal: $9 million

Whole-family approach helps families with housing assistance alongside mental health supports

Families in or near poverty face a number of barriers to social and economic mobility, including housing insecurity. Lost income due to the pandemic is real—and has pushed families to the farthest limits of stability.

With the Direct Housing Assistance program, all Wilder clients and their families have access to financial help to pay rent or mortgage, allowing them to focus on their self-identified goals and prevent their household from entering a crisis.

Learn more about our approach and impact from Janayah Bagurusi, Director of Family Supportive Housing Services, in this recording from our One Family at a Time event held on March 10, 2022.

Three women sitting on park bench on a spring day, youngest in the middle wearing a helmet, kneepads and holding a skateboard

Stephanie, a mother of two elementary-aged daughters, uses services through Wilder’s Community Mental Health and Wellness to support the well-being of her family. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, Stephanie’s hours were cut as schools moved to online learning, leaving her in need of support for rent, work and child care, along with making sure her family’s mental health needs were met.

As part of Wilder’s whole-family approach to helping families thrive, the mental health team referred Stephanie to Direct Housing Assistance. Wilder’s housing team helped Stephanie by driving to her home to pick up or drop off documents as needed. Stephanie told staff she was grateful and thanked the team for being accessible in an extraordinarily difficult time.

Improve our children's mental health and well-being

Wilder’s solution is simple and effective: provide high-quality, culturally specific mental health services directly within schools to serve the one in five children who suffers from a mental health issue. With your support, we will expand mental health services to serve children in at least 50% of Saint Paul Public Schools, helping nearly 2,000 students improve their ability to learn and dozens of classrooms become calmer.

Goal: $4 Million

With healing, DeAnthoney takes steps to be the person he wants to be

DeAnthoney, a young photographer who aspires to create a “multi-visual empire,” didn’t feel like he fit in when he enrolled at the High School for Recording Arts in Saint Paul. He was frequently absent from school, and he had experienced homelessness. DeAnthoney started meeting with Evette, a Wilder school-based mental health therapist who works with students of African descent at the school. 

Expanding Mental Health Support in Schools

Access to therapy is critical when our children are facing extraordinary mental health challenges. Wilder offers culturally relevant school-based mental health programs and services in 30 schools, with plans to expand to more sites in the coming years. 

Learn more about our approach and impact from Dr. Benita Amedee, Wilder clinical supervisor, in this recorded Q&A event hosted in February, 2022. 

Build wealth through life-changing connections

Capital, connections and opportunities make success possible, yet these resources are often out of reach for people living in undervalued and underinvested communities. This campaign will help more families design a pathway toward economic and social mobility, form important connections, and develop an indelible sense of ownership and agency for their futures. With your support, we can expand this approach and create special grant opportunities to provide 750 families with this novel approach to accelerating the initiative people take to improve their lives.

Goal: $4 Million

Supporting the Campaign for Families

Megan Habbe, Wilder donor and volunteer

Campaign for Families donor Megan Habbe gives so that others can trust what tomorrow looks like

Wilder donor Megan Habbe has witnessed first-hand why our community needs stable housing. In her career and her volunteer work, Megan has seen how housing access helps individuals, families and communities thrive. In Megan’s family life,...More about this story »

Thank you for supporting Wilder's Campaign for Families!

♦ employee | *deceased

$2 Million+
Fred C. and Katherine B. Andersen Foundation
Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies

$1 Million+
Anonymous
Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation

$500,000+
F. R. Bigelow Foundation
The Katherine B. Andersen Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation

The Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation
Thrivent Foundation
U.S. Bancorp Foundation

$250,000+
Andersen Corporate Foundation
Bentson Foundation
Charlton H. Dietz
Pat and Christee Donovan
Hardenbergh Foundation
Hugh J. Andersen Foundation

Securian Financial Foundation

$200,000+
Mortenson Family Foundation
Pohlad Family Foundation
Kathryn L. Schleich

$100,000+
Anonymous
Bremer Financial Corporation
Donald and Patricia Garofalo
Mardag Foundation
Morning Foundation
Otto Bremer Trust
Andrea and Tim Walsh

$75,000+
Brad and Susan Hewitt
Chris and Ann Hilger
Mairs & Power
The Rothchild Family Fund
Mark and Jodie Zesbaugh

$50,000+
3M Foundation
Anonymous
Julie Brunner and Dale Ulrich
Hubbard Broadcasting Foundation

John and Ruth Huss
Jay and Gail Lund
Eric Nicholson and Anna Waters
William and Susan Sands
Ann L. Wynia

$25,000+
Anonymous (2)
Craig and Kathleen Binger
Ciresi Walburn Foundation for Children
Alex and Judy Cirillo
Page Knudsen Cowles and Jay Cowles
Kevin and Catherine Earley
Granite Foundation

MayKao Y. Hang and Lao Lu Hang
Robyn L. Hansen
King Family Foundation
Tom and Sally Patterson
Sando Foundation
Jan Shimanski and Robert Mills
Missy Staples Thompson and Gar Hargens

Liz and Tim Welsh

$20,000+
The Edward J. Phillips Family Foundation
Phyllis Rawls Goff
Elizabeth M. Kiernat

$10,000+
Armando and Angela Camacho
Ruth Fingerson
Fred and Archie Harris
William E. Harrison
Valerie Johnson and Kristine Szczech
KCB Corporation
David and Sherla Mayer
Malcolm W. McDonald*
Ron and Marilyn Mitsch
Michelle M. Morehouse
William and Mary Touminen
Penny A. Wheeler and Margaret H. Chutich

$5,000+
Anonymous (3)
Jennifer and Andrew Adams
Ron Bongard
Terry and Cheryl Crowson
Judy and Edward Kishel
Daniel and Constance Kunin

Sue Piva and Laurie Keate
Carleen Rhodes and Byron Gilman
Barbara Roy
Conradine Sanborn and Chris Colantti
Nancy Speer and Jim Shaver

$2,500+
Nona and Vanwright Ferguson
Joan and Robert Grzywinski
Dr. Rahul Koranne and James Watchke-Koranne
The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation Employee Matching Fund

George and Diane Power
Steve Sabes and Maggie O'Gara
Richard Todd and Patricia Haswell
Anthony and Ruth Yocum

$1,000+
Ellen Cleary
Amelia Colwell
John R. Farrish and Sara Donovan
Tom and Leslie Kottke
Jean M. O'Connell
Steven and Katie Schmidt
Julie Smith
Burton Swan

$500+
Erin D. Coryell
Charles Fazio and Sallie Fazio Quammen
Megan Habbe
Jennie and John Hawkins
Dr. Charles P. Morgan and Deborah J. Morgan
Anne and Jeff Rodenberg
Carolyn J. Sorensen
Kerry Walsh and Tom Meyer
Pahoua Yang and James Song

$1-500
Anonymous (3)
Tim and Kathy Ball
Georgia Boehlke
Joanne Curry
Catherine Gasiorowicz and Robert Beverage
Melissa Gibbs
Edith Gozali-Lee
Greg Hanley
Beverly Jones Heydinger
Jan Kolles
Kathleen A. Lawhead
Allison and Alex Liuzzi
Catherine C. Penkert
Jamila Pickett
Gregory Reynolds
Samreen and Sameer Saadi
Candi Shreve
Ann M. Somers
Craig Sweet
Tony Thao
Tsua Xiong
Mai Choo Yang