AETN, local library partner for statewide Mister Rogers Sweater Drive in November

The Arkansas Educational Television Network and more than 30 libraries statewide, including the Garland County Library, have partnered to sponsor the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Sweater Drive as a tribute to Fred Rogers and his example of being a caring neighbor.

The drive will be held Nov. 1-30.

Members of the community are asked to donate new or gently worn sweaters at participating libraries or AETN headquarters in Conway. Sweaters collected in this drive will be distributed by various local charities and The Salvation Army in Arkansas. Visit http://www.aetn.org/sweaterdrive for more information. “Fred Rogers’ dedication to ensuring that children and their families had the educational and emotional tools needed to grow and prosper made him an icon for both public media and public service,” AETN Executive Director Courtney Pledger said in a news release. “AETN is proud to carry on his legacy through the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Sweater Drive by working with outstanding library and charity partners across the state.”

This is the fifth year for the statewide Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Sweater Drive. In 2017, 34 libraries participated and collected more than 3,000 sweaters.

“The Salvation Army is excited to again partner with AETN on this project that will bring warmth and comfort to our neighbors in need this holiday season,” Captain Jay Spalding of The Salvation Army Central Arkansas Area Command said in the release.

To help set the tone for a “comfortable” visit with his young viewers, Rogers put on a sweater and changed into sneakers as a way to help children settle in for “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” All of Rogers’ original sweaters were knitted by his mother, Nancy McFeely Rogers. Each year, she knitted a dozen sweaters and gave them to family and close friends at Christmas, the release said.

Over the course of more than 40 years, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” PBS’ longest-running children’s series, earned four Daytime Emmys. As a testament to his legacy, Rogers received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997 and was recognized in 2002 with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for his contributions to children’s development and education using broadcast television, it said.

The Fred Rogers Company was founded by Rogers in 1971 as the nonprofit producer of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” for PBS. In the years that followed, it not only created hundreds of episodes, but it also extended Rogers’ values and approach to other efforts in promoting children’s social, emotional and behavioral health and supporting parents, caregivers, teachers and other professionals in their work with children. The Fred Rogers Company continues to build on his legacy through a wide variety of media and by engaging new generations of children and families with his timeless wisdom, the release said. Additional information is available at http://www.FredRogers.org.

The Arkansas State Library provides the resources, services, and leadership necessary to meet the educational, informational and cultural needs of the citizens of Arkansas, and provides guidance and support for the development of local public libraries and library services. Further information about the library’s services is available at http://www.library.arkansas.gov.

The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in 1865, has been supporting those in need without discrimination for more than 130 years in the United States. Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. Visit http://www.salvationarmyusa.org for more information.