As families everywhere continue to cope with uncertainty stemming from the COVID-19 global pandemic, Sesame Workshop, in collaboration with Walgreens and AT&T, has announced an expansion of its Caring for Each Other initiative to help children and their caregivers stay healthy, build resilience and adjust to a “for-now normal.”

Today’s release on SesameStreet.org/caring includes new resources to help families face current challenges like missing friends, while also giving children ways to celebrate helpers in their neighborhoods, from pharmacists to mail carriers and grocery store employees.

Bilingual resources for children of frontline workers and new professional development tools for community providers like healthcare workers, social workers and educators will roll out on an ongoing basis. As communities everywhere begin to transition into the next phases of the crisis, Caring for Each Other will expand to address evolving challenges as part of Sesame Workshop’s commitment to supporting families for the duration of this crisis and beyond.

“These are stressful days for everyone, and children and families are struggling in their own ways,” says Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president, U.S. social impact, Sesame Workshop. “Together with AT&T and Walgreens, we can help families through the different challenges and transitions they are experiencing during this pandemic – giving them the tools they need to build hope for sunnier days ahead.”

New content being released in the coming weeks includes a “Sesame Street” Muppet video thanking “Super Families” of essential workers, ideas for ways to show love while keeping a safe distance, strategies for parents to help little ones cope with the unique challenges their families face and more.

AT&T’s support of Sesame Workshop’s Caring for Each Other initiative is part of the company’s $10 million Distance Learning and Family Connections Fund, created to give parents, students and teachers tools they need for at-home learning. In addition to resources on missing friends and key public health messages, such as do’s and don’ts for face coverings, additional topics will include coping with the illness of a family member, financial insecurity, grief and how to gradually transition to a new normal.

“As our country works to navigate these unprecedented times, parents and young children are facing a unique set of challenges,” says Charlene Lake, senior vice president, corporate social responsibility and chief sustainability officer, AT&T. “For years, Sesame Workshop has been a leader in creating content to help kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder, and we’re thrilled to be able to support their Caring for Each Other initiative. Today, it’s more important than ever that families have access to meaningful resources that support their changing needs.” 

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, particularly those most vulnerable.