Sesame Workshop Launches Phase Two of Military Famlies Outreach Project
Elmo and Friends Help Military Families and Young Children Cope With Challenges of Multiple Deployments and Combat Related Injuries
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, yesterday launched Talk, Listen, Connect: Deployments, Homecomings, Changes, the second phase of the Workshop’s military outreach program launched initially in 2006. The initiative provides support and offers significant resources for military families with young children experiencing the effects of deployments, multiple deployments or when a parent returns home changed due to a combat related injury.
With major support provided by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Military OneSource, the Wal-Mart Foundation, and American Greetings Corporation and additional support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the New York State Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH), the USO (United Service Organizations), the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) and Joseph Drown Foundation, Sesame Workshop has developed Talk, Listen, Connect: Deployments, Homecomings, Changes to help military families with young children between the ages of two and five build a sense of stability and resiliency during times of separation and change.
According to statistics, as many as 700,000 children under the age of five have a parent in the military. Due to the success of the first phase, Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families During Military Deployment, as well as the overwhelming support the first kit generated from the military community, the need was clear to launch this second phase.
“The incredible response and impact Sesame Workshop saw from our initial work with military families and the impact it made, inspired this next phase of Talk, Listen, Connect,” said Gary E. Knell, President and CEO, Sesame Workshop. “With an increasing number of military parents experiencing multiple deployments and a parent coming home injured, more than ever, these families need help navigating the ups-and-downs of these experiences with their children as well as ways to support one another and find resiliency in the face of change. We hope with the help of their friends from Sesame Street they will continue to discover ways they can continue to forge family bonds despite the situations they may encounter.”
The resources will consist of a bilingual (English/Spanish) multimedia outreach kit with DVDs for children and adults starring the Muppets from Sesame Street, print materials for children, parents and caregivers and facilitators and American Greeting postcards featuring the beloved Sesame Street characters for parents and children to stay connected. Sesame Workshop will produce and distribute 500,000 kits at no cost to individual families, schools, child care programs, family support programs, hospitals and rehabilitation centers and other organizations serving the needs of military families with the help of Military OneSource, the New York State Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH), the USO (United Service Organizations), the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) and other partners. Special emphasis will be made to reach families of the Reserves and National Guard. The kit materials will also be available online at www.sesameworkshop.org/tlc, where streaming video is being provided by the Department of Defense Military Community and Family Policy Program Support Group, so families everywhere can view the videos and download the information.
In continuing efforts to keep families connected, Sesame Workshop will unveil the enhanced Talk, Listen, Connect Web experience in Fall 2008. Supporting the outreach materials, the enhanced Web site will feature fun and interactive activities for families to share together and stay connected.
Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org.