Everyone’s favorite furry, blue, cookie-loving monster is coming to Guilford County next week.
His love for cookies is simply summed up in his favorite quote: “C is for Cookies. That’s good enough for me.” However, Cookie Monster’s upcoming visits to Guilford County are to celebrate a local collaboration that leverages the simplicity and familiarity of Sesame Street characters to help parents and professionals discuss complicated issues with young children.
Guilford County is one of a small number of communities in the United States that has a formal partnership with Sesame Street in Communities (SSIC), which is the nonprofit arm of Sesame Street that offers online and print resources to foster positive development in early childhood. In addition to resources that foster positive academic, social, and physical development, SSIC resources use familiar characters to address serious challenges that families may face, such as trauma, homelessness, community violence, and grief.
The Sesame Street in Communities-Guilford County collaborative is spearheaded by five local organizations: UNC Greensboro’s Healthy Relationships Initiative, the Guilford County Partnership for Children, Guilford Child Development, the United Way of Greater High Point, and Ready for School, Ready for Life.
Dr. Christine Murray, the UNCG professor who directs the Healthy Relationships Initiative, said, “Our organizations have been working independently for the last few years to embed the Sesame Street in Communities resources into our programs. Last year, we formalized our local collaborative so that we could most effectively share these resources with families and professionals in our community. The May 7th events will be a great way to celebrate our collaboration and spotlight the wonderful resources that our partnership with Sesame Street in Communities brings to Guilford County.”
Two free launch events will occur on May 7, with the morning program at the High Point Public Library and the afternoon program at the Greensboro Public Library. Both events will feature appearances by a walk-around Cookie Monster character, performances by local band, Big Bang Boom, free cookies, and family-friendly activities.
“We know that families in our community face many difficult challenges when raising young children,” said Murray. “The resources from Sesame Street in Communities offer some kid-friendly tools that parents and professionals can use to help young children through challenging times.”
For more information, visit the Facebook event page or www.ssicguilford.org/launch.
