Sesame Street visits Memphis for childhood development initiative
Sesame Street’s own Elmo made an appearance in Memphis as part of the announcement of an early childhood initiative.
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, has chosen Memphis to be a part of Sesame Street in Communities, an initiative to support parents and community providers to give children a strong start in life.
“All of this is about innovation and about really doing what we can to help our families rise up, help their children, be their child’s first teacher and be successful,” said Sean Lee, president of PorterLeath. “Today we’re excited to take another step forward.”
The program will partner with ACE Awareness Foundation, a group that combats adverse childhood experiences, and Porter-Leath, which works with at-risk children, to provide support for families and children under the age of six.
Porter-Leath will use Sesame Street in Communities materials for professional development training as well as in its early childhood programs.
“Using the power of Sesame Street and the beloved Muppets, we will help children and families grow smarter, stronger and kinder all at the same time,” Lee said.
The ACE Awareness Foundation will use those resources in programming at their four “Universal Parenting Places” in Memphis, where parents can receive professional counseling, emotional support and parenting information.
“All you have to do is say Sesame Street and people start to smile,” said Dr. Renee Wilson-Simmons, executive director of the foundation.
Wilson-Simmons said she hopes having Sesame Street’s resources will draw more people to the work they are doing to prevent and mitigate childhood traumas such as divorce, substance abuse or the incarceration of a parent.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said Tuesday that the county is committed to giving every child access to pre-kindergarten programming.
“We’ve got to try to address those needs and we need to start earlier and earlier, intervening in the lives of those kids and those families,” Harris said. “That’s what Shelby County is committed to do. I know that all of you here are committed to do it, because the stakes couldn’t be larger.”
Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president of U.S. social impact for Sesame Workshop, said Memphis was chosen because of its social programs like the ACE Awareness Foundation.
“We have an expression, and that’s what I’d like to leave you with, that the goal of Sesame Street in Communities is to ‘Sesame-tize’ organizations and ‘Sesame-tize’ our community,” she said. “By ‘Sesame-tizing’ a community, it’s exactly what I saw all of you smile when Elmo came on. There was an immediate connection, there were memories and there was also trust.”
Elmo and the Cookie Monster will make additional appearances in Memphis as the ACE Awareness Foundation celebrates the partnership with Sesame Street in Communities at its Universal Parenting Places.
Wednesday includes a 9:30-12 celebration at the UPP at Christ Community Health Services - Raleigh (3481 Austin Peay Hwy.) and a 2:30-5 celebration at UPP at Perea Preschool (1250 Vollintine Ave.). Thursday includes a 9:30 a.m. to noon celebration at the UPP at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women (6225 Humphreys Blvd.) and a 2:30-5 p.m. celebration at the UPP at Knowledge Quest (990 Park Ave., Suite 104.).