WellShare International

WellShare envisions a world where your zip code, skin color, and birthplace do not determine access to quality healthcare. Wellshare's mission is to advance health equity through effective and affordable community-defined solutions.

Established in 1979, WellShare works with underserved communities in Minnesota and Africa to disrupt cycles of generational poverty, disease, and trauma. Our community health worker model fosters local, sustainable solutions that address the root causes of health disparities and advance wellness for individuals, families, and communities.  

We currently serve 17 Minnesota counties and dozens of villages in the Bariadi district of Tanzania, with offices in Minneapolis and Mankato, Minnesota. In 2023, we helped over 32,000 people navigate complex systems, improve environmental drivers of health, and overcome barriers to health in Minnesota. WellShare predominantly serves the Somali, Oromo, Hispanic, Nuer, and Karen communities in the following focus areas:

Maternal & Child Health Promotion: Providing women education, health system navigation, and socio-emotional support to achieve reproductive health and early childhood development milestones through home visits and peer community gatherings.

Youth Health & Leadership: Our award-winning after-school program engages youth through the arts, health sciences, and mental wellness programming to develop healthy lifestyles, social-emotional well-being, and intergenerational relationships as they work to help transform the community around them.

Mental Health Education & Outreach: Evidence-based mental health programming to reduce stigma, promote access to care pathways, and improve self-care management through culturally tailored, evidence-based group education.

Chronic and Infectious Disease Prevention & Management: Promoting community-wide preventative health practices to reduce the impact of chronic and infectious diseases through vaccine and health screening clinics and evidence-based group classes.

Health System Navigation: Community Health Workers work with clients individually to help them navigate complex social and health systems and overcome system, language, and cultural barriers. 

Workforce & Economic Development: Providing full scholarships for Community Health Worker certification in Minnesota and small business loans to our women’s collective in the Bairdi District of Tanzania.

Social Determinants of Health Resolution:  Leveraging partnerships with local schools, healthcare systems, government, and social service agencies to improve the conditions that impact health, well-being, and quality of life, such as food security, housing, and employment.

Your gift will make a long-lasting impact. Thank you for your support!

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