Video: Sprout(R) and The Pajama Program Make Sweet Dreams Come True With Launch of 'The Great Sprout Tuck-In'

Video: Sprout(R) and The Pajama Program Make Sweet Dreams Come True With Launch of 'The Great Sprout Tuck-In'

24-Hour Preschool Television Channel Teams up With National Charity to Bring 'Good Night' to More Than 100,000 Children in Need with Donations of New Pajamas and New Books

NEW YORK and PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- PBS KIDS Sprout, the first 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for kids ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers, has partnered with the Pajama Program, a nationwide not-for-profit organization, to launch "The Great Sprout Tuck-In," a prosocial initiative that extends Sprout's "Good Night" mission and encourages families to share in the spirit of giving through PSAs appropriate for adult and preschool audiences, nighttime programming and a donation-match program.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/sprout/34337/

Launching November 24, "The Great Sprout Tuck-In" includes a series of PSAs designed by Sprout's award-winning creative team featuring Nina from The Good Night Show and the Pajanimals, four soft and cuddly puppet characters from the new series produced by The Jim Henson Company and 4Kids Entertainment, which will begin airing exclusively on Sprout this November. The PSAs will introduce the campaign and communicate the importance of the spirit of giving in a child's life. Viewers will be directed to SproutOnline.com for more details and information on how to donate.

As the Pajama Program's national media partner, Sprout will help raise awareness for this joint initiative and also match donations of new pajamas and new books for up to 100,000 children in need during the first year of the campaign. "The Great Sprout Tuck-In" microsite at SproutOnline.com will feature streaming video of the PSAs, links to the Pajama Program's monetary donation site, information about Sprout's matching commitment, instructions on how to send new pajamas and new books, expert advice on how to get preschoolers involved in giving to those in need, and ideas on how to host your own Pajama Drive.

"We are so excited to launch this initiative with such a trusted and well-known national brand," said Genevieve Piturro, founder of the Pajama Program. "There are over a half million children in the foster care system, many of whom have never owned a pair of pajamas and who don't know the comforts of a mother or father tucking them into a cozy bed and reading them a bedtime story. It is our mission to deliver a warm pair of pajamas and a book to these children who are going to sleep cold, afraid and lonely, and we are confident that 'The Great Sprout Tuck-In' will help us achieve that goal."

"'The Great Sprout Tuck-In' was designed to celebrate Sprout's core values of learning, growing and inspiring ideas for preschoolers and their families to share together," said Sandy Wax, president of Sprout. "We are honored to partner with the Pajama Program on this worthwhile initiative because we share the same values and believe that every child deserves a good night. Genevieve has done such amazing work with the Pajama Program and we hope to take it to the next level with 'The Great Sprout Tuck-In.'"

Although the PSAs will not begin airing until November 24, a temporary microsite at SproutOnline.com is available for those wishing to donate money and/or new pajamas and new books now, as October 1 begins a critical time for children in need. As defined by the Pajama Program, this "Danger Season" for children in need begins on October 1 and lasts throughout March 31. It is the time when it starts to get cold outside and hundreds of thousands of children in America are without warm pajamas at night. The holidays will come and go, but Danger Season remains for these children who go to sleep cold, afraid and lonely.

Go to SproutOnline.com now to donate, because every child deserves a good night.

About Sprout(R)

PBS KIDS Sprout, the first 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for kids ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers, was created as a partnership among Comcast Corporation, HIT Entertainment, PBS and Sesame Workshop. Since debuting its video on demand (VOD) service in April 2005, Sprout has become the #1 On Demand service for younger children, generating over 450 million orders. The 24-hour digital channel, which launched in September 2005 along with the website (SproutOnline.com), is the only channel that follows the day of child from breakfast to bedtime with its distinctive programming. Currently, Sprout is available in 44 million unique households.

The network's program lineup of gold-standard, curriculum-based children's shows includes: Sesame Street(R), Bob the Builder(TM), Barney & Friends(TM), Thomas & Friends(TM), Angelina Ballerina(TM), Caillou(R), The Berenstain Bears(TM), Jay Jay the Jet Plane(R), Teletubbies(TM), Dragon Tales(TM), Pingu(TM), Make Way For Noddy(TM), The Hoobs(TM), Fifi and the Flowertots(TM) and more. For additional information on Sprout programs or schedules, visit the website. To find out where Sprout is available in your area, call 1.866.9.SPROUT.

About The Pajama Program

Founded in 2001 by Genevieve Piturro and her friends and family, the Pajama Program has since grown into a nationwide 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization with 72 local chapters in 44 states that have distributed over 200,000 pairs of pajamas and close to 100,000 books to children in need. Hundreds of thousands of children have been abandoned or placed into the foster care system and most are deprived of any love at all. The new pajamas and new books collected by the Pajama Program go directly to children in need all over the country, as well as those in foster care who are waiting and hoping to be adopted, many of whom do not know the comforts of a mother or father tucking them into a cozy bed and reading them a bedtime story.

Video: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/sprout/34337
Source: Sprout

CONTACT: Jenni Glenn of PBS KIDS Sprout, +1-215-286-2703,
jenni_glenn@sproutonline.com; or Genevieve Piturro of The Pajama Program,
+1-212-716-9757, gen@pajamaprogram.org

Web site: http://www.sproutonline.com/
http://www.sproutletsgrow.com/

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