The Wellington City Mission has partnered with unique Wellington enterprise - luxury leather goods label Yu Mei on a fundraising campaign that is the first of its kind for The Mission. For Yu Mei, the campaign intends to inspire a blue-print and new way of approaching charitable partnerships through region-wide collaboration.

The campaign named ‘Bags for All’ will see Yu Mei acquire sponsorship for 100 handbags, crafted by hand in their Wellington studio, which will then be donated to The Wellington City Mission’s Taranaki Street store and sold at a considerably cheaper price. The collaboration aims to raise funds for The Mission, while simultaneously bringing awareness to The Mission’s stores.

“This unique partnership means that the proceeds from the sale of the bags will not only go towards helping us deliver the programmes and services we provide on a daily basis, but also promote and share the commonalities between both our brands and values” says Jeremy Neeve, General Manager Social Enterprise at The Wellington City Mission.

“The partnership with Yu Mei is an obvious alignment. It recognises our shared values and speaks to the ‘empowerment’ and ‘community’ aspects of both our organisations. Their bags are designed to help weather people’s journeys with them, which I believe fits perfectly with our own commitment to walking alongside people and families in the Wellington region.

“We’re pleased to be partnering with Yu Mei for what is a contemporary and innovative collaboration for us as a charity.” Says Jeremy Neeve.

Being a brand ‘by real people, for real people’, this puts community at the heart of Yu Mei’s leather goods label, encouraging them to think about how they can apply a more inclusive purpose to it’s own mission.

“As a small business, we were searching for a way in which we could best make a difference. We feel that lending our brand and networks to raise funds is an impactful way to contribute and collaborate.” Says Kirsten Nagel, Yu Mei’s Brand Manager.

The partnership aims to engage the quintessential ‘op-shopper’ while tapping into Yu Mei’s niche buyer market, encouraging them to purchase a handbag and explore the quality selection of second-hand goods available at The Wellington City Mission’s Taranaki Street store.

Yu Mei Founder Jessie Wong believes that this partnership should also signal a new way of working with charities through collaboration.

“It’s a purpose-driven and sustainable way to partner with a charity long-term. It is our hope that Bags for All will become an annual campaign, and will inspire other businesses to think creatively about how they can make a difference in their community.” Says Yu Mei Founder Jessie Wong.

“We aren’t in a position to donate 100 bags alone, but by rallying together fellow businesses of all sizes we become more than the sum of our parts,” says Jessie Wong.

Community sits at the heart of the partnership. The handbags will be funded through a community of sponsors and corporates across the Wellington region, with sale proceeds from The Mission Store’s retail price being funnelled back into the community services and programmes provided by The Wellington City Mission.

Westpac is the major sponsor of the Bags for All initiative, donating 40 bags to the cause.

“Westpac have been so supportive of Yu Mei, as well as of this community initiative. We’re so grateful to them for their generous investment in our community and the people of Wellington,” says Yu Mei founder, Jessie Wong

Bags for All will be launched across digital channels on the week of 5 October 2020, encouraging people to visit the Yu Mei concept space within The Wellington City Mission’s Taranaki Street Store. Yu Mei bags will be available for purchase alongside a selection of quality second-hand goods from the City Mission’s Taranaki Street store on Saturday 10 October 2020.

• *Link: Collab interview with Jessie Wong (Yu Mei founder): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vpgU2HJbVc&feature=youtu.be
• *Link: Collab interview with Jeremy Neeve (Wellington City Mission) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8I6FzlGl8w&feature=youtu.be
• Wong founded Yu Mei in 2015 after she couldn't find a bag that would fit everything she needed to carry in a day. The brand was built with a focus on utility and intelligent, minimal design around the needs of real people, crafted from premium South Island deer nappa. Five years on, Yu Mei has two flagship stores in Wellington and Auckland, and is stocked in 36 retailers across Australasia.
• Acquiring sponsorship for the handbags means The Wellington City Mission will retain 100% of the proceeds,

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