“Kindness Counts” PSA Campaign for Preschoolers
Ann Curry, co-anchor of NBC News’ TODAY, America’s morning news program; Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, America’s leading evening newscast; and Big Bird, star in 24-hour preschool television channel Sprout’s first PSA created for “Kindness Counts,” the network’s new multiplatform, prosocial initiative designed to support the development of empathy in preschoolers.
Marking the official kick-off of “Kindness Counts,” the PSA premiered Monday during TODAY.
Two additional PSAs starring purple dinosaur Barney and Nina and Star from Sprout’s The Good Night Show will debut on Sprout in September. All of the spots in the campaign also feature preschoolers demonstrating real acts of kindness. The “Kindness Counts” PSAs will be aired on Sprout and other channels and featured online at SproutOnline.com.
In addition to this series of PSAs, the “Kindness Counts” campaign will also include digital and social media components, programming tie-ins and local extensions – all directed to parents and caregivers of preschoolers – with the ultimate goal of logging one million acts of kindness reported to Sprout from families all across the country.
A recent poll conducted by Sprout showed that 83% of parents surveyed were concerned about their preschoolers potentially being bullied or bullying others. Building empathy with young children can help encourage them to consider other people’s feelings and offer help or expressions of understanding – something as simple as a hug, getting a towel to help clean up a spill, or sharing a box of crayons with a friend.
“As bullying among school-aged children continues to be a growing concern for communities and parents across the nation, it is now more critical than ever – and never too soon – to start building empathy in young, preschool-aged children,” said Sandy Wax, president of Sprout.
“Empathy and kindness are a consistent theme with Sprout’s gold-standard programming and trusted characters, so Sprout is uniquely positioned to deliver our ‘Kindness Counts’ message to families of preschoolers all across the country.”
