Wishing you a new year filled with Inspiration.
As we enter 2023, we emerge from the waning pandemic stronger as an organization and confident in the outcomes for our students, and families we serve. The Wooden Floor’s Board of Directors felt the time was right to refresh our brand with a new logo and mission statement, to reflect the importance we have in our students’ lives, and in our community.
Our new logo is visually emblematic of the connection of our students, families, supporters, and staff coming together as “one community”. It is contemporary and shows our uniqueness, which aims to represent a supportive and welcoming environment with a variation of circles intertwined. The icon and font choice also reflects movement, evoking dance partnering techniques and a sense of trust, asking “Where do I end, and WE begin?”.
The Wooden Floor’s previous logo was created in 2009 and has served us very well. With the rise in popularity of social media and other digital platforms, we have evolved our digital brand over time. Our new logo is modular, so it can be adjusted for different uses, such as video, social media, and other digital platforms.
The Wooden Floor’s updated mission statement is now, “to inspire and transform the lives of young people through the power of dance and access to higher education.” It is an aspirational statement to reflect the outcomes for our students, which we want to help each of them to achieve. It is important to note that while the mission statement may change, our mission remains the same. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on our brand refresh, as well as celebrating our 40th Anniversary with you in the new year!
With gratitude,
Dawn S. Reese
Chief Executive Officer
Q&A
Frequently Asked Questions about why we changed our logo and the language in our mission statement.
What does the new logo represent?
Our new logo is visually emblematic of the connection of our students, families, supporters, and staff coming together as “one community”. It is contemporary and shows our uniqueness, which aims to represent a supportive and welcoming environment with a variation of circles intertwined. The icon and font choice also reflects movement, evoking dance partnering techniques and a sense of trust, asking “Where do I end, and WE begin?”
Why was the logo changed?
The Wooden Floor’s previous logo was created in 2009 and has served us very well. With the rise in popularity of social media and other digital platforms, we have evolved our digital brand over time. Our new logo is modular, so it can be adjusted for different uses, such as video, social media, and other digital platforms.
Why did you change the language in the mission statement?
Our mission statement is very important to our organization and it reflects the organization’s development and most importantly the aspirations of our students. It is important to note that our mission is not changing. As it was worded, the previous mission statement spoke to our model in three distinct parts rather than our holistic creative youth development model. Today, our student outcomes are based on inspiring young people through the power of dance and the access to higher education, which we are known for.
What if I am attached to the previous logo and mission statement?
Many of us who have been involved with the organization for a long time are attached to various aspects of our 40-year history. The Wooden Floor is a great source of pride for our students, alumni, staff, supporters, and community. Previous incarnations of our logo, name, and mission statement have served us well for many years. This update carries the same passion for serving our community and living our values of Respect, Excellence, Community, and Stewardship that led to this change, and was supported thorough research and best practices.
Who was involved with the brand refresh process?
The brand refresh process was spearheaded by The Wooden Floor’s Board of Directors, including our CEO, alumni and parent representatives, with strategies developed and executed by our own internal Communications and Marketing team to design the new logo suite, as well as Rebecca Alvarez, Principal of NP Strategies for facilitating the development of our Mission Statement.
Will the mission or services change?
Our mission is not changing. We remain a strong organization with the same purpose, goals, services, and celebrated outcomes towards our long-term vision to break the cycle of poverty through generational change. The Wooden Floor’s new mission statement will help us to inspire and transform the lives of young people through the power of dance and access to higher education as we step boldly into our next 40 years of impact.
