History

With the passing of The 1965 Immigration Act, more Asians were permitted to come to the United States.  As a result, many Chinese immigrants relocated to the Bay Area only to find employment in Chinatown working in restaurants, garment factories, and other low-wage occupations.  Because both parents had to work, Chinatown saw a high demand for child care.

In the mid-1970s parents, teachers, grandparents, and directors of the Chinatown Child Development Center (CCDC) and Chinatown Community Children’s Center (CCCC) began discussing the need for child care services in their neighborhood.  These meetings resulted in the formation of The Association of Children’s Rights (ACR), an umbrella organization with two components: child care and resource and referral services.  Because space in Chinatown could not be secured at the time, ACR was located at a church in the Richmond district of San Francisco.  The original child care center was named Lok Yuen (meaning “happy garden” or “paradise” in Cantonese), and cared for 35 Cantonese-speaking children.  ACR eventually became known in the community as “Wu Yee” (meaning “Protector of Children” in Cantonese).

Since its inception over 30 years ago, Wu Yee has remained dedicated to serving families and children who require linguistically and culturally appropriate child care programs and provider services.  Today, we reach families and children in designated service areas in Visitacian Valley, the Tenderloin and three locations in Chinatown, San Francisco.