Sesame Workshop & PSEG Foundation Partner for New Initiative

Sesame Workshop and the PSEG Foundation have teamed up to launch the Little Neighbors: Building a Better World Together initiative featuring Sesame Street characters.

The Little Neighbors initiative will focus on six core community values—safety, the environment, compassion, volunteerism, continuous self-improvement and being a good neighbor. It aims to nurture children’s early understanding of community and encourage them to act with respect and kindness for others.

The bilingual resources available include seven videos featuring familiar Sesame Street characters, such as Good Neighbors Volunteer, which sees Cookie Monster volunteer at a bake sale; a digital storybook featuring Sesame Street characters working together to improve their community; activity pages on how to help others, volunteer and take care of the earth; a complete activity book to inspire children to build a better world; and a volunteer tip sheet, webinar and articles for adults.

A Facebook Live event featuring Elmo, Hooper’s Store proprietor Alan and other Sesame Street characters is also available for children and their families to watch together to get to know the material.

Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, senior VP of U.S. social impact at Sesame Workshop, said: “We want to help children see themselves as active participants in their communities and, with the support of caring grown-ups, feel inspired to build a better world, starting right in their own neighborhoods. It is important for children to understand, empathize with and appreciate others, and the new resources launching today are designed to help children think and act with concern and kindness. Sesame Workshop is proud to partner with the PSEG Foundation to help families build strong and caring communities.”

Ralph Izzo, PSEG Foundation’s chairman, president and CEO, said: “There is no better advocate for children than the team at Sesame Workshop, and we’re proud of the PSEG Foundation’s long-standing partnership with this unique and generous organization, tackling topics that help adults to guide young people through life’s challenges and opportunities. These new resources have been prepared with parents, educators and caregivers in mind, providing tools everyone can use to help children become thoughtful citizens and a greater part of their communities. Working together, we can help children grow to be brave, strong, resilient and caring.”

In addition to being available for free online, Little Neighbors resources will be distributed through the PSEG Foundation’s network of local schools, libraries and more, as well as national and community providers as part of Sesame Street in Communities.