Wu Yee Children's Services

Wu Yee Children’s Services

The Challenge

Wu Yee was founded in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1977 by a group of resilient Chinese immigrant parents and social workers who banded together in the face of brutal hardship to provide a more prosperous life for their children.

Today, they represent cultures, languages, and perspectives from all over the world, and serve children in the Chinatown neighborhood and throughout the city. They had grown and expanded their impact in impressive ways, but their brand narrative had not kept pace, so parents, educators, policy-makers, and funders did not always appreciate their full scope and results. They partnered with Mission Minded to reposition their reputation from a small, fierce group of parents and social workers to an organization leading advocacy locally and statewide, for quality early education and resources that benefit all children.

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The Insight

Despite an early hypothesis that their Chinese legacy may have been holding them back, our research among insiders like grateful families, partners and collaborators of today—who all herald their expansion and impact—led to the bold idea that rather than move them away from their roots and legacy (Chinese families, Chinese community) their new brand should anchor their founding story as way to signal the expansive inclusivity of today’s mission and impact.

And we saw another bold opportunity to widen what they stand for: Not just by and for Chinese families, Wu Yee Children’s Services is unique today in its singular focus on children. More than just desperately needed childcare, they share their expertise on how young children learn, and what they need to thrive, regardless of race or neighborhood. The brand positioning we created—Up front for Children—directed the next phases of our work and their ongoing narrative focus.

The Journey

A new name, From Wu Yee to Wu Yee Children’s Services, honors the legacy of founders and the founding mission, invites more people in, and highlights the singular focus of children. A new tagline, Early to learn. Early to rise., reinforces their core belief in the positive outcomes for kids who have a strong education from the start. The visual identity captures their warm, inviting, friendly, and uplifting personality. And a new suite of key messages – used across a range of print and digital communications – differentiates them by showing what they uniquely make possible for children, and why that matters.

The Impact

Today Wu Yee Children’s Services welcomes and serves more families and educators because their brand reaches out and invites in like never before. Staff and board have the tools to communicate more effectively, and their unique value and expertise is well-understood by the policy-makers who share their commitment to a thriving community.

We are all so very grateful to the amazing work of the Mission Minded team that supported our entire project from brand messaging through visual identity. It was a great experience for our team, and we are delighted with the outcomes.
Monica Walters, CEO, Wu Yee Children’s Services