SAINT PAUL, Minn. - The National Hockey League's (NHL) Minnesota Wild will host Wild About Children, presented by West Bend, to benefit the Minnesota Wild Foundation and Children's Minnesota at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 16, at Xcel Energy Center.

The Minnesota Wild Foundation's mission is to grow the game of hockey and support pediatric medical related causes. The annual gala is its premiere fundraising event. A portion of the funds raised will go to support Children's Fetal Cardiology program. Since the first event in 2003, Wild About Children has raised over $2.3 million for charity with more than $1.5 million benefitting Children's Minnesota.

The entire 2019-20 Minnesota Wild roster will serve as celebrity waiters and trade their jerseys for aprons to wait on the 400 guests expected to attend. During the event reception prior to dinner, guests will have the chance to enjoy a specialty cocktail mixed by your favorite Wild bartender, Zach Parise, enjoy fancy hors d'oeuvres passed by Wild celebrity waiters, and peruse an amazing silent auction filled with unique sports memorabilia and other exciting packages. Guests will also have a chance to snap photos and get autographs from their favorite Wild players. The event program will be emceed by FOX Sports North's Anthony LaPanta and Kevin Gorg.

Tickets for the gala are now available. Exclusive ticket upgrades are also available for this year's event; the team is offering attendees unique options to attend small, pre-gala parties in some of the premium spaces at Xcel Energy Center with Wild celebrities. For more information on the Wild About Children event, including pricing and package details, visit wild.com/wac.

The Minnesota Wild Foundation exists to support the game of hockey and improve the lives of families in the State of Hockey. With support from Wild players, fans and donors, the Minnesota Wild Foundation supports pediatric medical causes, serves as the largest non-member funding source for Minnesota Hockey, and provides fundraising opportunities for youth hockey associations across the state. Since its inception in 2009, the Wild Foundation has distributed more than $4 million in grants to hockey organizations and children's medical related charities and has dispersed over $2 million to local charities through its Split the Pot Raffle program. Together we create a Greater State of Hockey. For more information and to make a donation visit www.wild.com/foundation, email mnwildfoundation@wild.com or call 651-602-6000. Follow the Minnesota Wild Foundation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Children's Minnesota is the seventh largest pediatric health system in the United States and the only health system in Minnesota to provide care exclusively to children, from before birth through young adulthood. An independent and not-for-profit system since 1924, Children's serves kids throughout the Upper Midwest at two free-standing hospitals, 12 primary and specialty care clinics and six rehabilitation sites. Additionally, Children's is Minnesota's only Level I pediatric trauma center inside a hospital dedicated solely to children. In 2018 Children's Minnesota was verified as a Level I Children's Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons. Children's maintains its longstanding commitment to the community to improve children's health by providing high-quality, family-centered pediatric services and advancing those efforts through research and education. This work is made possible in large part by generous philanthropic and volunteer support from individuals and organizations throughout the state and region. An award-winning health system, Children's received Magnet® recognition from The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) in 2018 and is regularly ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a top children's hospital. Please visit childrensMN.org.

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