Mission Statement
The mission of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation is to promote the social welfare of persons resident or located in the greater Saint Paul metropolitan area by all appropriate means including:
Relief of the poor,
Care of the sick and aged,
Care and nurture of children,
Aid of the disadvantaged and otherwise needy,
Promotion of physical and mental health,
Support of rehabilitation and corrections,
Provision of needed housing and social services,
Operation of residences and facilities for the aged, the infirm and those requiring special care
And, in general, the conservation of human resources by the provision of human services responsive to the welfare needs of the community, all without regard to, or discrimination on account of, nationality, sex, color, religious scruples or prejudices.
Impact and Programs
Accomplishments
Wilder Foundation strives to create a stronger community by working with partners to help children, families and older adults through direct service programs, research, leadership development and community building. Wilder provides services that build hope and resiliency for children and families through mental health, education, housing support, social adjustment, early childhood, and aging programs. We build community capacity through leadership development programs, community initiatives and collaborations that bring people together to solve complex social challenges. Wilder Research studies evidence and provides applied and practical research in the field of human services.
In FY2014, we served 240 children and families in Child Development Services, 1492 children and 762 adults in Community Mental Health Services, 3,793 children families and community members in our three Achievement Plus schools, 1,174 families through Family Supportive Housing, 575 Aging adults and families through Community Services for Aging, 1,221 clients in Caregiver Support, and increased community leadership by working with 427 individuals in our Leadership Programs. We also engaged with 176 organizations through Research producing 143 reports. We delivered 22,873 meals on wheels to seniors and served 107,815 meals through Wilder Programs. Through our Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood work (SPPN) we provided 95 children Early Learning Scholarships, had 361 scholars in summer Freedom School, and engaged 494 parents engaged through various parent and kinship network groups.
Following are just some examples of the impact we know we have made:
• One key outcome from children served through our Community Mental Health programs (Kofi, Day Treatment, Child Guidance Clinic, Achievement Plus, etc) was to have more hope. In parent surveys, 100% of parents were somewhat to very hopeful that things will get better for their child. Individual program results varied from 64% - 91% of parents being very hopeful.
• In our Child Development Center, 94% of our children met the standards to be ready for kindergarten as compared to the state average of 73%.
• SPPN 3rd graders made strong gains in reading: +8% at Jackson, +4% at Maxfield, +3% at St. Paul City School. These results compared to a +1% improvement across all St. Paul Schools and the state of MN.
• 96% of students participating in the SPPN summer Freedom School program, maintained or improved their reading level.
• 100% of the students in the SPPN Sankofa Reading program improved their reading level.
• Through our Youth Leadership Initiative, we increased teenager’s preparedness to be a leader with 92% indicating they were prepared after participating in our program, this was a 75% increase in agreement. Additionally, those reporting over 3.0 GPA went from 70% to 81% of participants between the beginning and ending of the program.
• Engaged 30 community leaders to build capacity among communities of color in the public policymaking process. Our efforts plus the efforts of these community leaders contributed to raising the minimum wage, security funding for the SPPN, and passing a historic $100 million in affordable housing investment.
• Secured a decommissioned Metro Transit bus, began retrofitting, and met with approximately 500 residents to determine best way to provide access to affordable food in the East Metro. Launching of the bus to provide food to areas lacking access to healthy food began in FY15.
Current Goals
The Wilder Foundation is an organization focused on helping children and families, the elderly, and the community. In order to advance our mission, vision, values, and aspirations we establish strategic and core priorities to guide our work. In FY2015 our strategic priorities include: Advancing social and economic opportunities, Improving community health and well-being, Developing and establishing services for homeless youth, and Growing caregiver awareness and services.
Our core priorities are Children and Families including serve children who live with mental illness and their families to improve their lives, delivering support services to families, youth, and children in affordable housing to achieve social and economic stability, assist new immigrants and refugees to adjust to life here, reach underserved culturally-specific communities with adult mental health services, and prepare and enable low income children and their families success in school; Older Adults – serving frail older adults and people with disabilities and their caregivers; Community, Research, and Leadership including applying research to understand program effectiveness; monitor emerging community trends and needs; collect data and information for hard to reach populations; convene, report, reach out to public officials, residents, and community leaders; develop effective, values-driven leaders who impact community, engage communities to develop solutions to complex challenges within and across sectors; Work Environment – we use our unique administrative capabilities to accomplish our priorities and to facilitate and work environment that rewards behaviors reflective of our values and Wilder employees have opportunities for growth and are able to use their skills to serve the community.
Community or Constituency Served
The Wilder Foundation helps children, families and older adults in the greater Saint Paul area through direct service programs, research, leadership development and community building.
Geographic Area Served
Greater Saint Paul consisting of the counties of Ramsey, Washington, Dakota and Anoka.
