Primetime Special 'When Parents are Deployed' Premiering December 27

With more than 700,000 children of military families under the age of five separated from their mother or father this holiday season Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, has responded with a program geared to address the challenges military families face with deployment. The half-hour television special, entitled When Parents are Deployed, will be hosted by Academy Award ® winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr., premiering Wednesday, December 27 at 9pm ET/PT on PBS (check local listings).

Sesame Workshop recently launched a partnership with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, with additional support from The New York State Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH) and Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC), to create an educational outreach program titled, Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families During Military Deployment. The program was created to assist the children of the military cope with the enormous separation anxiety they face when a parent is called to duty. A total of 385,000 Talk, Listen, Connect kits will be distributed. The entire kit is also available on-line at www.sesameworkshop.org/tlc. The website also provides a music clip of the song "Proud" sung by Elmo and his dad. This clip can be sent electronically to a loved one accompanied by a special text message.

While interviewing the military families who were included in Talk, Listen, Connect, Sesame Workshop producers were continually impressed by the families' selflessness and sense of duty. Out of this admiration and respect came the idea to make their stories available for all Americans to see. With funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), Sesame Workshop created When Parents Are Deployed, geared to military parents and caregivers.

When Parents Are Deployed reveals candid and intimate moments with the parents, caregivers and children impacted by deployment. They express how they are coping with the daily stress and fears associated with having a parent depart for military duty, and how families deal with that member when they return home after serving their country. As the holidays can be a very difficult time for military families, Sesame Workshop saw this special as way to illustrate how this group of Americans is managing during times of extended separation.

"The overwhelming response that we received to the Talk, Listen Connect outreach program confirmed to us that we were indeed fulfilling an unmet need for the youngest members of our military families," said Sesame Workshop President and CEO Gary E. Knell. "We also felt that it was important to reach as many adult caregivers as possible with this valuable information. We are grateful to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for acknowledging our goals with their generous funding of the television special When Parents Are Deployed."

"Military families give so much to community and country," said Patricia Harrison, CPB President and CEO. "The demands of military life can be especially hard on children who are separated from their Mom and Dad during the holiday season. CPB is proud to help our troops and their families through our support of When Parents Are Deployed."

When Parents Are Deployed was made possible by CPB and portions of the special were contributed by Wal-Mart as part of their support of Talk, Listen, Connect.

Sesame Workshop is a nonprofit educational organization making a meaningful difference in children's lives around the world. Founded in 1968, the Workshop changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street. Today, the Workshop continues to innovate on behalf of children in 120 countries, using its proprietary research methodology to ensure its programs and products are engaging and enriching. Sesame Workshop is behind award-winning programs like Dragon Tales, Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, Pinky Dinky Doo and ground breaking multimedia productions in South Africa, Egypt and Russia. As a nonprofit, Sesame Workshop puts the proceeds it receives from sales of Sesame Street, Dragon Tales, Sagwa and Pinky Dinky Doo products right back into its educational projects for children around the world. Find the Workshop online at www.sesameworkshop.org.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1000 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television, and related on-line services.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and SAM'S CLUB locations in the United States. The company also operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United Kingdom. The company's securities are listed on the New York and Pacific stock exchanges under the symbol WMT. More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting www.walmartfacts.com. More information about the Wal-Mart and SAM'S CLUB Foundation or other military projects can be found at www.walmartfacts.com or www.walmartfoundation.org.

PBS, is a non-profit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 348 public television stations. A trusted community resource, PBS uses the power of noncommercial television, the Internet and other media to enrich the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services that inform inspire and delight. Available to 99 percent of American homes with televisions and to an increasing number of digital multimedia households, PBS serves nearly 90 million people each week. More information can be found at www.pbs.org

Talk, Listen, Connect

Helping Families During Military Deployment

FACT SHEET

In August, 2006 Sesame Workshop and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. with additional support from the New York State Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH) and Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) launched a new project, Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families During M M ilitary Deployment. This critically needed outreach tool was created to help military families and their young children cope with the challenges of a parent's deployment and to offer a sense of stability and build resiliency during times of separation and change. The project was designed to provide resources to help hundreds of thousands of military preschool children and their families. In the first two weeks after the launch, over 100,000 kits had been requested and the demand continues to date.

Need. Research shows that 483,514 children of active duty military members and 177,888 children of Reserve and Guard members are less than five years of age.* This vast and growing population of service members with young children currently face unique difficulties and challenges, including the stress and anxiety surrounding a parent's deployment or reunion after a period of absence, frequent relocation, and other complex issues. Moreover, access to resources that can help families and children cope with these situations is limited.

The Response. Talk, Listen, Connect is modeled on an acclaimed Sesame Workshop initiative, You Can Ask!, which was developed in response to September 11, 2001. You Can Ask! presents the familiar and beloved Sesame Street characters encouraging children to share their feelings and features strategies to help parents and caregivers foster communication.

In developing Talk, Listen, Connect, Sesame Workshop assembled an advisory board consisting of leading experts in child development, mental health, and programs servicing military families, who have lent their knowledge and support to inform and guide Sesame Workshop on all aspects of the initiative. The advisors helped to determine the needs and challenges facing young children in military families along with recommendations for age-appropriate and effective content for the project. In addition, Sesame Workshop conducted focus groups with members of military families with young children in order to strengthen and verify the key messages and information provided by the advisory board. An impact study will also be conducted to evaluate the project's overall effectiveness.

The Kit. Talk, Listen, Connect consists of bilingual (English/Spanish) materials including a DVD for children and adults starring the Muppets from Sesame Street and a magazine and poster for children, parents and caregivers.

Distribution and On-Line Availability. Sesame Workshop produced and will distribute 385,000 of these kits, with the help of their partners. The kits will be distributed through the following outlets, provided by The Department of Defense through Military OneSource: Child Development Centers at each military installation, distribution centers for Active Duty personnel with children 3-5 years-old, National Association of Childcare Resource and Referral Agencies, the National Guard, Coast Guard, Family Readiness Groups, the Reserves, NYSOMH in NY State and MCEC in Texas. In addition, individual families can request a kit through www.sesameworkshop.org/tlc.

The entire Talk, Listen, Connect kit is also available online at www.sesameworkshop.org/tlc, where streaming video is being provided by The Department of Defense Quality of Life Information Technology Center, so families everywhere can view the video and download the information. In addition to the kit, the website provides a clip of the song "Proud" sung by Elmo and his dad. This clip can be sent electronically to a loved one accompanied by a special text message.

judythpiazza@gmail.com

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