Learning Care Group News: December 12, 2012
NOVI, Mich., Dec.11, 2012 – ‘Tis the Season of Giving at Childtime, The Children’s Courtyard, La Petite Academy and Tutor Time, as children at more than 900 schools nationwide learn the valuable lessons of kindness and generosity. Students, families and teachers throughout Learning Care Group’s portfolio of brands will share the spirit of the season by donating new bedtime books and new cozy pajamas to children in need as part of the Great Sprout Tuck-In, an initiative that extends 24-hour preschool television channel Sprout’s “Kindness Counts” mission and encourages families to share in the spirit of giving.
Held in conjunction with the Pajama Program, a national non-profit organization, the Great Sprout Tuck-In benefits underserved children throughout the U.S., including those in foster care who are waiting and hoping to be adopted. Learning Care Group’s support for the campaign is part of its ongoing partnership with Sprout, through which it emphasizes valuable life lessons children need to live, play and work alongside others. In addition to the Great Sprout Tuck-In, education experts from Learning Care Group and Sprout have teamed to find ways to engage children in opportunities to develop an understanding of empathy.
“Integrating character development in the classroom in ways that are meaningful to children helps them better understand and learn positive values,” said Dr. Susan Canizares, Chief Academic Officer, Learning Care Group. “When we help children grasp the idea of empathy – being able to understand the experiences, feelings and ideas of another person – we make them more sensitive to the importance of kindness and generosity. With the Great Sprout Tuck-In, we can teach that lesson in a very simple, tangible way.”
Learning Care Group continues to support Sprout’s “Kindness Counts” initiative, which aims to ultimately record one million acts of kindness from families across the country. The schools have already tallied more than 52,000 kind acts on Sprout’s Kindness Counter from last winter’s Season of Kindness, along with 75,000 acts of kindness tied to the company’s newly introduced Grow Fit healthy living initiative.
“Learning Care Group continues to be a wonderful partner for Sprout’s ‘Kindness Counts’ initiative,” said Jim Multari, VP of Marketing for Sprout. “Through the kindness of families participating in the Great Sprout Tuck-In with Learning Care Group, we will be able to provide the Pajama Program with new pajamas and books to benefit thousands of underserved children throughout the U.S. and help them have a warmer, happier holiday season.”
The Season of Giving will conclude in January, culminating with Pajama Party Celebrations held at all Childtime, The Children’s Courtyard, La Petite Academy and Tutor Time locations on January 10, 2013.
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About Learning Care Group, Inc.
Headquartered in Novi, Mich., Learning Care Group provides early education and child care services to children ages 6 weeks to 13 years under its umbrella of brands: The Children’s Courtyard, Childtime Learning Centers, La Petite Academy, Montessori Unlimited and Tutor Time Child Care/Learning Centers. Learning Care Group operates more than 900 schools (corporate and franchise) across 36 states, the District of Columbia and internationally, and has a system-wide capacity to serve more than 100,000 children. For more information, please visit www.learningcaregroup.com
About Sprout®
Available in over 50 million homes, Sprout is the first 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for children ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers. 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 a preschooler from breakfast to bedtime with its distinctive, interactive programming and original hosted blocks. Sprout’s VOD offering is the #1 on demand service for younger children with over one billion views.
Sprout is a partnership among NBCUniversal, PBS, Sesame Workshop and Apax Funds. Its program lineup of gold-standard, curriculum-based preschool shows includes: Sesame Street®, Bob the Builder™, Barney & Friends™, The Wiggles®, Caillou®, Pajanimals™, Thomas & Friends™, LazyTown™, and more.
About Pajama Program
Pajama Program provides new pajamas and new books to children in need, many who are waiting and hoping to be adopted. These children live in various situations including group homes, shelters and temporary housing facilities and are shuffled often from one place to another. Many of them have been abandoned, abused or neglected. Most of these children have never enjoyed the simple comfort of having a mother or father tuck them in at bedtime with warm, clean pajamas and a bedtime story. Some of the children we serve are living with their families below the poverty level, in desperate need of food, clothing and shelter. Pajama Program has 79 chapters in 42 States and operates three (3) Reading Centers: New York, NY, Yonkers, NY and Red Bank, NJ. Around the U.S. our local chapters have begun organizing reading groups for the children we serve in their communities. Website: www.pajamaprogram.org
Contact:
Lydia Cisaruk
Director of Communications
Learning Care Group
(248) 697-9140
lcisaruk@learningcaregroup.com
