The Wilder Foundation is is a nonprofit community organization that helps children, families and…read moreolder adults in the greater Saint Paul and East Metro area through direct service programs, research, leadership development and community building. I have not used any of their services but instead have been the beneficiary of attending several conferences hosted by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits in this beautiful building. All meetings I've attended here have been held in their auditorium which has a large drop down projection screen with floor to ceiling windows in one half of the room that looks out onto a lovely courtyard. The room is well mic'd for sound and the most recent setup of the room was classroom for 64, with plenty of open space for more room for tables and chairs. They have a covered garage for parking which is a nice bonus.

Wilder offers a variety of family therapeutic services that are tremendously helpful. We've…read moregenerally found their staff to be quite compassionate and caring. The only negative I have with them is how they handle their invoicing. They are the only therapy provider that we've ever dealt with (and we've used many over the years) that does not provide date of service detail, nor an indication of whether they've billed insurance and if so how much the insurance covered on their invoice. The problem with this is that if you have an HSA, as we do, then you are actually supposed to keep that detail on hand in case you are audited. What this means is I have to go back and ask them for the detail every time they bill us. Other Dr.s offices give these details automatically. Wilder has at times.

This is a SAFE PLACE. One can feel it in the air when you enter…read more My child, who prefers they/them as pronouns, is currently seeing staff re. gender . They have been seen AND HEARD by caring, knowledgeable, professional people who are taking the time to educate and help them deal with extremely personal sexualty issues. I do not know all the technical terms but I CAN tell you that after a 17 year battle with many other less sensitive healthcare professionals my child is now becoming happier, more confident, and a mentally healthier individual. My child's patner is also seen here because she has an extreme reaction to needles. Family Tree is the only resource (after 7 other facilities) to supply the accommodation necessary for her anxiety control so a blood draw could be accomplished. The clinic has gone beyond any normal standard of care. Lastly, when visiting, I appreciate the calm attitudes, the unique waiting room, and the educational materials available. It is a SAFE PLACE for all.

It's sad to hear that the Saint Paul location on Dayton avenue is closed down I went there…read moreapproximately 33 years ago I know that's quite a long time but they were so incredibly helpful and compassionate during a very troublesome and stressful time in my life I was having severe mental health issues and since my boyfriend's parents lived directly across the street I went there in midst of a psychotic crisis they treated me with complete respect and were not condescending at all they were so empathetic and one of the staff members even took the time to drive me the hospital to be checked in for a psych eval they went above and beyond even though they're now at a different location I hope that they are still doing incredible work.

Super easy to donate food. They have a dedicated door for food donations. Staff are welcoming and…read morefriendly. They offer lots of services beyond food such as clothing, housing help, etc.

VEAP provides an incredibly necessary community service. I go to VEAP once a month to get food and…read morethey provide "an abundance of groceries" absolutely free. Fish fillets, ground beef, fruits, vegetables, grains, bread, canned foods, frozen foods, sauces, pastries, butter, even sometimes toilet paper, paper towels and napkins. I'm not sure how they've managed to grow to become such an inspirational and clearly imperative service to the community but having been here in Minnesota for more than 20 years may explain it in part. It also requires dedicated and responsible volunteers that work with a smile for everyone that comes through the door. I'd give VEAP 10 Stars or more if I could. We get between 15 and 30 full, well balanced meals for 2 people every month! As an aside, I don't believe any of VEAP's policies could be considered overreach and if you use VEAP and are amazed at what you get for free and feel that VEAP makes you feel deserving and proud, take the time to leave a review!

The individual who assisted me was amazing. She understood my needs and assisted with just that. I…read morehighly recommend their services!

Had such a great time volunteering here with SGAD!! I've volunteered with Surly at the Roseville…read morelocation before doing a hanger sort. This location was a bit different. We did a napkin and placemat sort/pairing, some people got to match the sets to a set of dishes so when people come to grab them they can have a whole set. This location seemed a bit tighter space wise than the other location but it worked out for us spreading out. Staff were nice and helpful when we had questions.

I would tell them not to turn down wonderful pieces of furniture. I had a beautiful Bernhardt sofa…read morethat barely was used and they turned it down with a Thomas ville oak dining room table six chairs. They don't bother to even look at pictures and then ask you to pay for moving. With so many people without homes or furniture, how can they do that.

Awesome experience! A perfect venue for a fun team building session or networking event for large…read moregroups, while simultaneously providing a service for our community. Location was inconvenient for me as it was a 45 minute drive, but the friendly and helpful staff, combined with their large and beautiful facilities made it worthwhile. Second Harvest Heartland was easy to work with. Their online reservation system made it easy to see which time slots could accommodate us. We were even able to use their large meeting room space to host a 2 hour lunch and networking event prior to our volunteering session. The large room included 2 screens for projecting presentations from your laptop, sound system with microphone and a strong and free WiFi. All of this was of great value to our group! As one of the leaders of Asian Professionals Alliance in MN (APAM), we brought together 70 volunteers from across APAM member companies: 3M, Best Buy, Cargill, General Mills, Medtronic, Target & US Bank. Not only was this venue large enough to accommodate our large group, they were so organized, gave us great instruction and constantly kept the workplace clean, comfortable. They had 6 computers at the entrance for each individual to register for the event. Half of our group boxed care packages for senior citizens while the other half worked to inspect and package 40 pound bags of potatoes for food shelves across the country. My favorite part is that they share the results of your volunteer efforts at the end of your shift. I would absolutely recommend this place for volunteering sessions - for individuals, small groups and large groups!

I lost everything here... nah I'm jk, it was my fault. So that's good. Pretty tuff place I can't…read morelie.

My 13 yr old autistic son went to camp here last week. We couldn't be happier with how he was…read moretreated. The first day he didn't want t go back but we convinced him to try it one more day, and he had an absolute blast and wants to come back next year. I think it's a great thing to have a camp for autistic kids so they can socialize and have fun and realize their not alone. The staff was amazing with my son and all the other campers, you could tell they enjoyed their job.

my 30-year-old son with disabilities who was in one of Mt. Olivets group home's a few years ago…read more This experience was dreadful. I took him back home after only seven weeks. His room was never cleaned, he were pajamas and other peoples clothing to his day program, there is no communication with the staff. And the biggest huge thing is they lost him. On his health and safety assessment he is known to leave, elope. They said they had discovered they had alarms on all the doors. They did not have these alarms activated. He walked out of the door to the garage. The big garage door was wide open and he walked away. No one knew he was missing for hours. They thought maybe his transportation to his group home picked him up. They didn't know that a big van may have come to get him. It was awful. It was scary and I'm very glad my son is no longer there. The house manager at the time Billy made up a whole lot of excuses why this could've happened. I hope he's no longer working there.

What a fantastic organization. I have volunteered at Second Harvest on several occasions. In…read moreaddition to being organized and easy to work with, they encourage fun. Volunteerism at Second Harvest typically involves labeling and packaging food for individual consumption. No matter what size group I have brought to this location, they always have enough work to keep us busy for 2+ hours. Yesterday we sorted through pallets full of potatoes and created five-pound bags for distribution to families in need. In a two-hour span, a team of 40 volunteers created enough packs to make nearly 7,000 meals. That is true impact. During the process, the Second Harvest team efficiently kept us in supply of the necessary products and played some entertaining music that made us forget we were trading desk jobs for manual labor. Exercise, fun, and community benefit all in one event! At the end of our volunteer event, the staff provided statistics to help us measure the impact of our time. They also explained their broad reach and how many lives Second Harvest touches on a regular basis. I am so thankful that organizations like this exist and that they truly do all possible to make life a bit better for those who are suffering. To be a part of it is both humbling and incredibly satisfying. Whether you have a group of corporate volunteers or are a retiree looking to spend some time helping others, Second Harvest is a great partner organization.

My eyes were opened yesterday, when our company decided to volunteer at Second Harvest Heartland…read moreService Center for our annual employee event. I can't remember all the stats, but I do remember them saying one person in ten goes hungry in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. And to think how much I eat, how much we as a country/state/community waste food. They can make a dollar stretch, and with so many causes looking for money, this is one that really can help out a lot of people. We had about 30 people from our office, but there were two other companies volunteering. Most of us went into the 'clean room', where we donned our lunch lady hairnets and surgical gloves. We started bagging pasta, moved on to bag granola cereal, and finished with bagging rice. Some of our group as well as the other companies bagged potatoes. In our three hours of work, we roughly filled over 400 pounds of pasta, 500 pounds of cereal, and 800 pounds of rice. I think the potatoes were in the thousand-pound range. In all, we did enough work that would provide over 8,000 meals to families of four. As a company, we bonded, and I got to learn a bit more about some of my coworkers. It was a great team building event and while we had fun, this activity serves a greater good. I would do this again in a heartbeat and I highly recommend it to companies, groups of friends, or if you feel like you want to 'pay it forward'. Pictures say thousands of words. Just look at all these happy volunteers. It says it all. Hopefully they will get the August album up soon so you can see our picture. Second Harvest and the families who receive help from them are very grateful, too. www.2harvest.org/volunteerphotos