From the first day of school to your first day of work, change can be a scary proposition. Not all changes are bad, though.
Sometimes a simple change can help you be more efficient, flexible and place you on the path to make a greater impact. That’s what our rebranding effort is all about.
We are excited about these changes and, since you are one of the most important parts of WakeEd Partnership, we want to make sure you are too! Here are six easy steps you can take to become more comfortable with our brand update.
1. Think of what you were doing last year at this time
Do you remember? We were busy hunkered down trying to decide on a new strategic focus. Today, we get to share that with you. We’ve put a lot of thought into this and you can see that in our updated goals, vision, mission and much more. The best part is that even though we have changed our brand, we haven’t changed the heart of our organization. We still are working with businesses to ensure every WCPSS student has excellent educational opportunities. Want proof?
2. Give us a book
Seriously. The best way to realize that our brand change has enhanced our mission is to partner with us on the Wake Up and Read book drive. We are working to collect more than 100,000 books for children in low-income homes. It’s part of our goal to serve as a catalyst to improve education in Wake County. So cozy up to our new name and help us reach our goal. Or maybe…
3. Win $500 at the Triangle Trivia Challenge on February 26
As part of our new brand, we are reaching out to new audiences and bringing more people into the Partnership. We have a vision for every WCPSS student to graduate with the skills needed to succeed in a global economy. We can’t reach that goal alone. We have a phenomenal relationship with the school system and the business community. Now we are expanding our reach to the community at-large. That ties in with our new logo.
4. Learn the meaning of our new logo
Our new logo reaches beyond our four walls to bring the community together. Each dot represents the different voices that make up Wake County. Notice that WakeEd is in the center, working to bring them all together. Our logo now represents what we do every day and you will see it at around a lot more. See a gallery of our materials here.
5. Say “WakeEd”
We know you already call us that. Heck, we call ourselves that. It’s like country ham and mustard on a fresh baked biscuit—it just feels right. This isn’t the first time we’ve switched to a shorter name. We used to be called the “Wake County Education Foundation.” Aren’t you glad we didn’t hold on to that one? But if you really don’t like our new name then…
6. Don’t Change
Who says you can’t go back? Sure, we think WakeEd is easier to say and our web address is shorter for you to type now (wakeed.org). Similar to Disney (The Walt Disney Company), BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke AG) and J.R.R. Tolkien (John Ronald Reuel), we’re using an abbreviation. But our legal name is still Wake Education Partnership. So, if you want, be a rebel. Wear a brown belt with black shoes. Wash your hair, rinse it and don’t repeat! And if you still can’t get used to our new name, feel free to call us Wake Education Partnership. We promise to still be here working to improve education.
