Celebrating 50 Years of Strengthening Families!
Fifty years ago, FamilyWise opened its doors and began its mission to strengthen families by promoting the safety, stability, and wellbeing of children. Our earliest participants, who were just starting their families, are now grandparents and great-grandparents. The stability we help our participants achieve has reinforced their natural support networks and broken cycles of poverty and violence for future generations.
In our Bright Beginnings young parent education and mentoring program, formal matches of mentors and mentees often bloom into long-term, supportive relationships. Katie and Samira were matched in Samira’s third trimester, and the pair built trust over time, leading up to the birth of Samira‘s daughter, Amara. Katie coached Samira through many positive parenting moments, including setting up Amara with dental care, doing healthy, cost-effective grocery shopping, and encouraging Samira to get involved at Amara‘s school. Over time, the pair came to feel like “extended family members.” Katie’s dad helped Samira learn to drive and get her driver’s license. Years later, when Samira got married, Katie’s whole family was invited to the wedding. As Amara got older, she joined Girl Scouts, and Katie helped out as an assistant to the troop leader.
Stories like Samira and Amara’s are powerful, but there is still a lot of work to do to create an ecosystem that supports families. While we’ve seen powerful legislation like paid family leave recently enacted in our state, affordable childcare is still out of reach for most families. Reducing parental isolation by helping parents build community support networks is essential. As we look ahead, we aim to grow our statewide presence as advocates for families and leaders in prevention. We want to support communities across the state in their efforts to help parents and children thrive.
We hope you will join us in celebrating 50 years of supporting families! Here are a few ways you can mark this milestone year with us:
- Kick off our 50th anniversary by attending the Celebration of Family Wellbeing on April 21 at Smash Park in Roseville. This fun, family-friendly event will feature games, auctions, raffle prizes, networking and learning opportunities, and more. Learn more and RSVP.
- Read our 2026 Family Wellbeing Index, a report published in early April that offers insight from our staff and partners about actions that we can all take to support families and prevent child abuse.
- Thank a parent or mentor who has made a difference in your life. Supportive caregivers can shape our lives and contribute to lifelong wellbeing.
- Read the “Generations of Impact” blog series highlighting stories from the past five decades, which will run from May through November on our website.
- Join us for our 50th Anniversary Open House on September 24 at Dual Citizen Brewing in St. Paul! Old friends and new faces are welcome! More event details are coming soon.
- Get involved with FamilyWise as a volunteer or donor! There are year-round opportunities to support our programs through in-kind and financial contributions.
In honor of our 50th anniversary, we are collecting stories from people touched by FamilyWise programs. If you have a story to share, please contact Kate at kbailey@familywiseservices.org or 612.877.7852.