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SC Johnson and Sesame Workshop Launch Global Initiative to Help Families Stay Healthy
March 2, 2021 – New York, NY – SC Johnson and Sesame Workshop are teaming up on an initiative to create new tools and resources for young children and caregivers worldwide to promote healthy and environmentally sustainable practices at home. Today’s release on SesameStreet.org/caring features brand new videos starring Elmo and his father, Louie, modeling healthy routines around bedtime, bath time and sick days. Part of Sesame Workshop’s broader Caring for Each Other initiative to support families during COVID-19 and beyond, these videos are the first in a series of educational resources centered around playful learning for children and caregivers. SC Johnson is supporting this work as part of its global efforts to create a healthier and more sustainable world for this and future generations.
Over the next two years, Sesame Workshop will create a robust collection of global educational resources centered around the pillars of health, sustainability and early education building blocks. New multilingual resources for families in the U.S., Latin America, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa will encourage positive hygiene behaviors and reinforce the importance of staying clean to avoid germs, building on Sesame Workshop’s health and hygiene programming around the world. Additional resources will promote sustainable practices for children and families while fostering curiosity and the “science of why” from an early age.
“It’s important that we all work together to help children respond to challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. “Our goal is to combine our expertise in science and innovation with Sesame Workshop’s decades of experience in educating and connecting with children so we can equip them with the skills needed to lead healthier and more environmentally conscious lives.”
The new videos launching this week are designed to help families create comforting, healthy routines. In the first video, Elmo is in bed with a cold. Elmo’s dad, Louie, sings a special “Feel Better” song with Elmo to comfort him and to explain that feeling under the weather is normal and won’t last forever. Elmo’s doctor joins the song via video call, helping to familiarize little ones with telehealth visits. Launching later in the week, two additional videos – a “Bathtime Bop” about staying clean and germ-free and a read-along bedtime story – will also use playful learning to reinforce healthy family routines.
“Sesame Workshop is proud to work with SC Johnson to help families stay healthy, connected, and full of curiosity – with a little help from the Sesame Street Muppets,” said Steve Youngwood, CEO of Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street. “Together, we can give children the skills they need to thrive and navigate whatever comes next in 2021 and beyond.”
The videos are part of Sesame Workshop’s Caring for Each Other initiative, which was created in response to the uncertainty facing families during the COVID-19 pandemic and has reached families in more than 100 countries and 41 languages. SesameStreet.org/caring is regularly updated to meet the needs of families as the situation evolves, with resources designed to help parents provide comfort and manage anxiety, as well as help with creating routines, fostering playful learning at home, and staying physically and mentally healthy. Resources will also be distributed through a wide range of national and community providers as part of Sesame Street in Communities, Sesame Workshop’s program to support children and families.
About Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, the pioneering television show that has been reaching and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. We’re present in more than 150 countries, serving vulnerable children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically funded social impact programs, each grounded in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities we serve. For more information, please visit www.sesameworkshop.org.
“It’s important that we all work together to help children respond to challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. “Our goal is to combine our expertise in science and innovation with Sesame Workshop’s decades of experience in educating and connecting with children so we can equip them with the skills needed to lead healthier and more environmentally conscious lives.”
The new videos launching this week are designed to help families create comforting, healthy routines. In the first video, Elmo is in bed with a cold. Elmo’s dad, Louie, sings a special “Feel Better” song with Elmo to comfort him and to explain that feeling under the weather is normal and won’t last forever. Elmo’s doctor joins the song via video call, helping to familiarize little ones with telehealth visits. Launching later in the week, two additional videos – a “Bathtime Bop” about staying clean and germ-free and a read-along bedtime story – will also use playful learning to reinforce healthy family routines.
“Sesame Workshop is proud to work with SC Johnson to help families stay healthy, connected, and full of curiosity – with a little help from the Sesame Street Muppets,” said Steve Youngwood, CEO of Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street. “Together, we can give children the skills they need to thrive and navigate whatever comes next in 2021 and beyond.”
The videos are part of Sesame Workshop’s Caring for Each Other initiative, which was created in response to the uncertainty facing families during the COVID-19 pandemic and has reached families in more than 100 countries and 41 languages. SesameStreet.org/caring is regularly updated to meet the needs of families as the situation evolves, with resources designed to help parents provide comfort and manage anxiety, as well as help with creating routines, fostering playful learning at home, and staying physically and mentally healthy. Resources will also be distributed through a wide range of national and community providers as part of Sesame Street in Communities, Sesame Workshop’s program to support children and families.
About Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, the pioneering television show that has been reaching and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. We’re present in more than 150 countries, serving vulnerable children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically funded social impact programs, each grounded in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities we serve. For more information, please visit www.sesameworkshop.org.