Sesame Workshop & MetLife Team to Promote Healthy Habits

NEW YORK: The MetLife Foundation has awarded Sesame Workshop a grant to promote the importance of healthy habits for children through its Sesame Street characters in India and Mexico.

The initiative will kick off in India with Galli Galli Sim Sim, a multimedia educational program that helps kids learn basic and life skills and also communicates health messages to children, parents and educators. In Mexico, the initiative will be expanded through Plaza Sésamo Hábitos Saludables para la Vida, which uses the Plaza Sésamo characters to deliver age-appropriate educational health information for Mexican preschoolers.

The grant will facilitate the production of specially-themed episodes, public-service announcements, online content, storybooks, posters and community events, all featuring the puppet characters of Sesame Street. The public-service announcements will begin airing in Mexico this month and distribution of the outreach materials is slated for spring 2010. In India, public-service announcements will begin airing this winter, along with the launch of mobile viewings of Galli Galli Sim Sim content and online health messages and activities.

“MetLife Foundation is proud to partner with Sesame Workshop to help educate families in India and Mexico on the importance of establishing healthy habits at a young age,” said Dennis White, the president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. “We are committed to promoting the health and well-being of the next generation and encouraging parental involvement and family engagement from early childhood.”

“We are thrilled to be able to expand our nutrition and healthy habits educational outreach program in India and to continue to develop and distribute a wide-range of materials for children to learn about critical health issues in Mexico,” added Caralynn Sandorf, the executive VP and chief development officer at Sesame Workshop. “Through its generous grant program, MetLife Foundation has a long-standing tradition of empowering communities to make a positive difference. We are so grateful to have its support in providing the tools families need to lead healthier happier lives.”