Fred Rogers Productions has been awarded a PNC Foundation grant to support Alma’s Way, its newest PBS KIDS series, through PNC Grow Up Great®, the multi-year, bilingual early childhood education initiative that helps children from birth through age 5 develop a passion for learning that lasts a lifetime. The $1.3 million grant from PNC Foundation to Fred Rogers Productions supports the development of Alma’s Way engagement activities as well as ongoing support for “Be My Neighbor Days,” the signature community outreach initiative for Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.
Season 2 of Alma’s Way, created by actor and writer Sonia Manzano, premieres September 18 on PBS KIDS.
“PNC Foundation is a valued supporter of educational programs for young children, and this grant for Alma’s Way will enable us to continue to fulfill our goal to provide enriching content and experiences for children and their families,” said Paul Siefken, president and CEO, Fred Rogers Productions. “We and PNC Foundation share a common goal of meeting the needs of kids where they are, and we look forward to continuing to serve our communities together.”
“When Fred Rogers Productions shared the Alma’s Way concept with us, we knew we wanted to play a role in bringing this important learning opportunity to young children,” said Sally McCrady, chair and president of PNC Foundation. “Investing in early education is a powerful way to create a meaningful difference in the communities we serve. That’s the driving force behind PNC Grow Up Great, which has been making an impact across our footprint for nearly 20 years.”
Alma’s Way focuses on critical thinking, responsible decision making, and self-awareness and features Alma and her friends navigating life’s adventures in the Bronx. Since the series’ premiere in 2021, it has been developed into successful educational digital games, launched a publishing program with Scholastic, and has been nominated for an Emmy® Award for Outstanding Writing for a Preschool Animated Series, among other notable and prestigious honors.
The PNC Foundation grant supports a range of Fred Rogers Productions programming and campaigns, including events that take the series’ educational and pro-social themes directly into local communities across PNC’s footprint for hands-on activities and fun for young children and their families. The grant also affords a variety of educational awareness efforts, such as custom-branded video content that will be aired on linear TV; pre-roll-on PBS KIDS streaming platforms, including the pbskids.org video player and the free PBS KIDS Video app; and recognition on the PBS KIDS YouTube channel.
About PNC Foundation
The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. Through PNC Grow Up Great®, its signature cause that began in 2004, PNC has created a bilingual $500 million, multi-year initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life.
For more information, visit http://www.pncgrowupgreat.com.