Won't You Wear a Sweater on March 20?

Won't You Wear a Sweater on March 20?

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of what would have been Mister Rogers' 80th birthday on March 20, Mr. McFeely -- aka David Newell, the public relations director for Family Communications, Inc. (the nonprofit company founded in 1971 by Fred Rogers) -- has a special request.

(Photo:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080226/NETU016 )

"We're asking everyone (including members of the media) everywhere (from Pittsburgh to Paris) to wear their favorite sweater on that day," he asks. "It doesn't have to have a zipper down the front like the one Mister Rogers wore on the program, it just has to be special to you."

Sweater Day is part of Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary celebration and the first-ever "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Days March 15 - 20.

"We wanted to recognize Fred in a way that would reflect his deep appreciation of what it means to be a caring neighbor," explains FCI's Margy Whitmer.

As a result, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Days was born as a means of promoting neighborliness throughout Fred Rogers' own backyard -- Southwestern Pennsylvania region.

Throughout WYBMND more than 30 organizations have signed up to participate.

For more information about Sweater Day and "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Days visit www.misterrogers.org.

This project supported in part by Pittsburgh 250 Community Connections and The Sprout Fund."

About Community Connections:

Community Connections is a grassroots initiative of Pittsburgh 250 supporting projects that encourage civic engagement throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania, commemorate the region's 250th anniversary, and provide lasting value to communities and the region as a whole. More than 500 applications for funding were submitted by individuals, community groups, and organizations to celebrate the "Pride and Progress" of Southwestern Pennsylvania-the theme of Community Connections. A region-wide community decision-making process selected 100 projects to share $1 million in funding for events and activities occurring throughout the anniversary year of 2008.

About The Sprout Fund:

The Sprout Fund is a nonprofit organization supporting innovative ideas and grassroots community projects that are catalyzing change in Pittsburgh. Founded in 2001, Sprout is designed to facilitate community-led solutions to regional challenges and supports efforts to create a thriving, progressive, and culturally diverse region. With strong working relationships to many community organizations and regional stakeholders, The Sprout Fund is one of Southwestern Pennsylvania's leading agencies on issues related to civic engagement, talent attraction and retention, public art, and catalytic small- scale funding.

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Photo: NewsCom:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080226/NETU016
AP Archive:

http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN4
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Mister Rogers

CONTACT: Saul Markowitz of Markowitz Communications, +1-412-577-5140,
Cell +1-412-977-8517, Saul@markowitzcommunications.com, for Mister Rogers

Web site:

http://www.misterrogers.org/

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