Help Elsie step up to end youth homelessness!

I am so honored to be fundraising as the Board Chair of Wildflyer. Wildflyer's mission is locally focused while supporting youth experiencing homelessness in and around Minneapolis and St Paul. After 4 years on the Board of Wildflyer, I am continually honored by the work that they are doing and the impact they have on our city's youth. Read below for more about their mission. 

Youth experiencing homelessness identify stable employment as a top priority, but face unemployment rates as high as 75%, compared to 16%* among their housed peers. *According to the US Department of Labor Bureau of Statistics, 2016.

Wildflyer's Mission: To create employment opportunities for youth experiencing homelessness and housing instability through the cultivation of life skills and personal empowerment.

Wildflyer's Vision: To end youth homelessness.

Wildflyer Coffee knows that maintaining stable employment is one of the biggest barriers young people can face when experiencing homelessness. Youth ages 16-24 participate in Wildflyer's training program and are supported every step of the way so that upon graduation, they feel confident and prepared to enter the job market.

Wildflyer’s four-month Work & Life Skills Training Program provides young people like Tori and Sky the opportunity to develop the skills and the confidence that enable them to find and maintain employment–providing a pathway out of homelessness. From their inception in 2017 through 2023, Wildflyer has employed 71 young people and in 2024 alone, is set to employ 45 youth–demonstrating the significant need for their programming.

Wildflyer's Work & Life Skills Training program is working! In 2023:

• 75% of participants graduated from Wildflyer's Work & Life Skills Training Program

• 80% of participants would recommend Wildflyer to a friend

• 80% of participants had a dream for their future and a plan to achieve it

• 85% of Wildflyer graduates are housed and employed, enrolled in education opportunities, or are working with their employment counselor

• 100% of participants felt safe and seen at Wildflyer

• 100% of program participants saw an increase in Job Readiness scores

And, notably, 100% of youth in Wildflyer's Winter & Spring 2024 cohorts were either employed, pursuing education, or actively working with their employment counselor post-graduation. With the support of the whole community–including you–Wildflyer will continue to see positive outcomes! Thank you.

Give to the Max Day (GTMD) Film Screening: Please consider attending Wildflyer's GTMD Film Screening, hosted at Trylon Cinema, on Thursday, November 21. This event will culminate  GTMD fundraising and will create a space for the community to come together, in advocacy of young people. They'll screen the film, American Street Kid, followed by a post-screening discussion on youth homelessness. All proceeds raised for this screening will be added to Wildflyer's GTMD fundraising goal.