WXXI's Sesame Street in Communities Rural Outreach Initiative

In 2019, WXXI Public Broadcasting was selected as one of 10 local PBS stations across the nation to participate in a special Sesame Street in Communities Rural Outreach Initiative, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. 

WXXI collaborated with Pioneer Library System and other local partners to serve rural families, educators, and early learners in Ontario, Wayne, Wyoming, and Livingston counties. Together we celebrated Sesame Street’s 50th anniversary with a special Hometown Celebration event, hosted professional development trainings for children’s librarians and other early childhood educators, empowered local library branches to host their own customized Sesame-themed Celebrations, and highlighted important resources from SesameStreetInCommunities.org.

The Sesame Street in Communities Rural Outreach initiative was an exciting opportunity for WXXI and our local partners to support rural families and learners in our region. Sesame Street in Communities provides hundreds of bilingual multi-media tools to help kids and families enrich and expand their knowledge during the early years of birth through six, a critical window for brain development. Sesame Street’s resources engage kids and adults in everyday moments and daily routines—from teaching early math and literacy concepts, to encouraging families to eat nutritious foods, to serious topics such as grief and food insecurity. Through ongoing collaboration, training experiences, and local partnerships, the Sesame Street in Communities initiative evolves and helps make a difference. 

To learn more about WXXI's Sesame Street in Communities work, visit: wxxi.org/sesame

WXXI's work on the Sesame Street in Communities Rural Outreach Initiative and Public Media Champions project is made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting