Barton Library holds sweater drive to benefit Salvation Army
The Union County Library System is partnering with the Arkansas Educational Television Network to sponsor the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Sweater Drive.
The drive as a whole is an annual program in tribute to Fred Rogers and his example of being a caring neighbor. It lasts through the month of November with boxes at each of the county library’s six locations where members of the community can donate gently used or new sweaters or jackets. This year, the donations will go to the Salvation Army.
“Fred Rogers is an icon for both public media and public service,” AETN Executive Director Courtney Pledger said in a news release. “He dedicated his life’s work to ensuring that children and their families had the educational and emotional tools needed to grow and prosper.
This is the fifth year for the statewide Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Sweater Drive. In 2017, 34 libraries around the state participated and collected more than 3,000 sweaters.
The idea for the drive comes from the beginning of the PBS show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” when Rogers would don a sweater and sneakers as a way to get more “comfortable” with his young viewers. All of Rogers’ original sweaters were knitted by his mother Nancy Rogers.
Over the course of more than 40 years, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” earned four Daytime Emmys and Rogers received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997 as well as a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002 for his contribution to children’s development and education.
The Union County Libraries represent six of the more than 30 libraries across Arkansas participating in the drive this year.
“As a place for the public to patron, for lack of a better word for it, we deal with the community a lot and we like to support the community,” said Lacey Ferrell, technology coordinator with Barton Public Library. “This is something that greatly supports the community, particularly during winter time.”
Michael Shine may be reached at 870-8626611 or mshine@eldoradonews.com. Follow him on Twitter and like him on Facebook @MichaelAZShine for updates on Union