Name Change From Me too & Co

Skylarks was previously known as Me too & Co. We are a small, independent charity that provides activities, support, and information for children and young people with additional needs, including their whole families. Me too & Co was very successful, it was chosen to be our Mayor’s Charity of the Year and awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS).

Unfortunately, the charities name became confused with the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and sexual assault. Our name was starting to become misleading to the public and those that had not used our services. We have also evolved since the charity was first set up in 2006 and we felt that it was time for a change.

During the rebranding process we engaged with a range of our “stakeholders” - parents, volunteers, trustees, staff and others, to talk about what the charity means to them and where we go from here. 

We realised very early on that finding a name to cover all aspects of the support we provide was a difficult task so we decided the new name would have to be a fresh start: no preconceptions, no connotations. A name we can all grow into. 

From the many words and associations that were discussed during workshops with parents, staff and volunteers, a compelling theme emerged:

Birds embody so many of the values that are core to the current “Me too & Co” identity, so the perfect fit for the new name is a bird, but not a showy bird - rather one that has a modestly beautiful song. The skylark symbolises ultimate joy for this reason. The male skylark can sing more than 300 different syllables and each individual bird’s song is slightly different. The skylark is also a resident of both our local community green spaces of Richmond Park and Bushy Park.

Just like every child or young person’s story - and needs - Skylarks are utterly unique.

The rebrand means we can now move away from the connotations that have held us back over the last few years and can concentrate on supporting more and more families.

Changing our name to Skylarks provides us with exciting new opportunities to grow and develop our organisation into something more. Don’t worry though, the Me too & Co that you knew and loved will still be the same. We will still have the same staff, the same volunteers, the same trustees, the same venues, the same activities, the same support, and all the things you told us are important to you and your family. 

We also want to say a HUGE thank you to Haymarket Media Group for all their expertise, time and patience, along with all the parents, supporters and volunteers who turned up to our workshops.

The rebrand is still a work in progress, so you will still see our old logo about, along with our current website, for just a little bit longer; however more and more branding will be released in the coming weeks.

Our email addresses, social media accounts and flyers will gradually migrate (more flying metaphors!) to the new name in the coming weeks as well. 

With best wishes from everyone at Skylarks(formerly Me too & Co)

As part of the rebrand many children and families supported us in making a new video to help launch our new name.

Members, Volunteers, Staff, Trustees, and Service Providers took part in workshops aimed at developing the new name.