It was a gift for the record books. In the fall of 2001, the Helen Bader
Foundation announced the donation of $5 million to the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
School of Social Welfare. It was the largest grant in the foundation’s 10-year
history and the largest grant ever received by a UWM school or college.
In recognition of this gift, and the foundation’s longstanding support of UWM, the school was renamed the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare.
The $5 million grant established an endowed chair in applied gerontology within the School of Social Welfare (see sidebar), and a Helen Bader Scholarship Fund to assist UWM students throughout the university in preparing for careers in gerontology and age-related studies. This major grant also funds age-related studies and initiatives.
Daniel Bader, president of the Helen Bader Foundation, says that, for the foundation and for his family, the ties to UWM run deep.
“My grandmother, my mother and her sister all attended Downer College,” he says. “I grew up close to campus on Milwaukee’s East Side.”
When his mother, Helen Bader, decided to go back to school in her mid-40s to earn her master’s degree in social work, UWM was the natural choice. After graduating in 1981, she went to work at the Milwaukee Jewish Home, where her efforts focused on the elderly and their families.
“But she was always interested in helping the homeless and the elderly,” says Bader. He remembers the family helping people who had fled Germany during World War II. “My mother spoke some German, and when we went out to dinner, it was always these crazy little boys (my brothers and me) and some nice elderly woman.”
As Helen Bader worked in the field, her attention became focused on those affected by Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. “She became aware of how devastating these conditions can be for victims and their families,” says Bader. “Because her own parents did not suffer from those problems, I think the contrast strengthened her determination to help those most in need.”
Helen Bader was innovative and pioneering in her work, often using music and movement as ways to connect with patients suffering from dementia. Before her death in 1989, she commissioned UWM Architecture Professor Uriel Cohen to study how the environment affected people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. When the Helen Bader Foundation was formed from her bequest, it was clear that aging would be a main focus for grants.
“Over the years, we have formed relationships with a great number of community partners in the field of aging,” says Bader. “But our biggest and most strategic partner has been UWM.” He credits this to the “built-in expertise” that a large university has and “the connections we’ve had to UWM as a family.”
The foundation also has acted as a matchmaker of sorts, bringing UWM together with community partners and helping to break down barriers between the academic side and those working hands-on in the field. The results of this collaboration are fresh, creative approaches to the issues of aging.
“I know that my mother would be pleased that UWM is continuing her passion for helping older adults live better lives,” says Bader.
—Beth Stafford