DRCC rebrands to better reflect our work and our communities
Have you noticed DRCC’s visual makeover? We celebrated our 20th Anniversary this month with a bang: the unveiling of a new mission statement, new logo, and new name: introducing the Duwamish River Community Coalition!
Over the course of the last year, DRCC engaged in a rebranding process to better reflect the many different ways that we’re working together. We are excited to share with everyone the results!
Why did we change our name ?
DRCC was founded in 2001 in response to the designation of the Lower Duwamish Waterway as a Federal Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) . For many years, DRCC has worked to ensure accessible and equitable exchange of information among responsible parties, the EPA and affected community members as the cleanup of the river is designed and implemented. DRCC believes in community organizing and advocacy, and that the most affected communities must be a part of the process of developing solutions.
In recent years, DRCC has expanded operations and programming to include the unavoidable overlap of environmental justice with economic justice, racial justice and climate justice.. The organization recognizes that these goals cannot be achieved separately, but must be addressed through an intersectional approach. To this end, our new mission:
“DRCC elevates the voice of those impacted by the Duwamish River pollution and other environmental injustices for a clean, healthy, equitable environment for people and wildlife. We promote place-keeping and prioritize community capacity and resilience”.
Most significant in this process is our decision to replace. “cleanup” with “community” in our name, to communicate that the voice and will of our Duwamish Valley community is the power behind the cleanup of the Duwamish River and all of our other efforts.
DRCC hired a local artist to design a new logo, reflective of new beginnings. And most significantly, the organization replaced “cleanup” with “community” in its name, to communicate that the voice and will of our Duwamish Valley community is the power behind the cleanup and all of our other efforts.
Our name centers COMMUNITY
Our new logo reflects community priorities and our values:
Hey! Our new name is not that different! We are still “DRCC”
As an organization — comprising staff, board, community members, coalition and our partners — we collectively explored options and avenues before we realized that we are attached to and still wanted to be called DRCC. We didn’t want to lose the strong name recognition of the brand (and so many of you already naturally call us “DRCC” already!) We didn’t want to lose the sense of familiarity and connection to the name that our community already has.
We hope our new logo conveys our values; our acknowledgement for the First People of Seattle - The Duwamish Tribe;, and our vision for our community: An empowered Duwamish Valley community thriving in a healthy and just environment.
Our hope is that this refresh ushers in our growth, progress, potential, and opportunities — Together, we’re really going to change the sector and uplift communities of color — while always honoring where we come from and where we have been.
20 YEARS AND BEYOND - HEALING, PROTECTING TRANSFORMING
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮 to all those that joined us on our 𝟐𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
We appreciate the support and dedication brought to DRCC throughout these 20 years. We ask for your continuous support in reaching our goal by donating here https://www.drcc.org/donate
Did you miss our virtual celebration? No worries you can still take part of this celebration here https://www.drcc.org/20th-anniversary
DRCC started 20 years ago as a coalition of community organizations that came together to oversee the clean up of the Duwamish River after it had been designated as a Superfund Site (one of the nation’s most toxic and polluted sites, made so from centuries of industrial activity).
We initially came together to elevate the voices of those most impacted by the Duwamish River pollution, but over the course of 20 years, our mission has expanded — because environmental justice is more than cleaning up. It is also health, equity, climate justice, building youth leadership, advocacy, stewardship, and so much more.
We are so proud of our work from the last 20 years — but let us tell you, we are even more excited about what is to come.
Join us on Thursday, Nov. 18 for our 20th anniversary celebration: “20 Years and Beyond: Healing, Protecting, Transforming.” It’s been a while since we’ve thrown an event like this, so we’re doing this one up. There’s going to be so many good stories from our tribal elders, water and air protectors of the last 20 years, reflections from our young leaders, artistic and musical performances, and the unveiling of something really cool we’ve been quietly working on for the better part of the last year. (We can’t wait to show you!)
Event details
When: Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021 @ 6:30pm.
Where: The DRCC virtual event space
RSVP - TODAY!