The Wege Foundation is celebrating the fortieth year of our founding on July 13, 1967. I still have my scribbled notes from that summer explaining why I started the Foundation and why I named it for my parents Peter Martin and Sophia Louise Wege. What I wrote forty years ago is just as true today: "No one has found a way to perpetuate a name better than creating a foundation. My father and mother are worthy of this honor."

The Wege Foundation would not have a legacy to stand on (you’ll find out I like puns!) if it were not for the genius of my father who founded the Metal Office Furniture Company in 1912. On December 1, 1954, M.O.F. was renamed Steelcase, Inc., for the recognized brand of our office furniture. Today Steelcase is the world’s largest manufacturer of office furniture.

The great success of my father’s company gave me the opportunity to start the Wege Foundation so I could give back to the community where I was born and raised. In 1998, with the help of my son Peter Martin and interested stockholders, we made Steelcase a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. This move allowed the Wege Foundation to provide more funding for needed local causes.

I call the principles behind the Wege Foundation the Six Es: Education. Environment. Ethics. Empathy. Ecology. Economy. We want to use this web site as an open forum to promote those same values. We hope you will join us.

Sincerely,