If you were 4 years old... you'd think I were cool

When it comes to Muppets and Sesame Street, there is only one real rock star. Yes, I am talking about Elmo. Like Madonna and Prince, Elmo is so established, he doesn't even need a last name. You just know.

Yesterday Ana Allen from Soldiers Media Center and I went to Sesame Workshop, the 40 year partner of Sesame Street. Sesame Workshop is the outreach program ran by Sesame Street that deals with issues that effect families such as early childhood literacy and numeracy, health and wellness, respect and understanding and emotional well being. This initiative by Sesame Street seeks to bring to light issues that no one else is talking about, and make it easier for families to talk about things on the same level that children and parents can both understand.

They are now concentrating their efforts on military families in a program called "talk, listen, connect", a bilingual multimedia campaign used to help families during deployments. This is actually a kit available to military members and their families for free through Sesame workshop and military one source. On the show, Elmo's Dad is "going away" to do a very important job. Through the characters, children can better understand their own situation. This program has been critically acclaimed by families and media alike.

Sesame Street has been around for 40 years, won more Emmy awards than any other show, and has been seen by more than 77 million people in it's lifetime. It is currently aired in over 140 countries in all different languages and themes.

I am currently writing a story for Army.mil, and just researching this project has been so heart warming. I don't have children, so I am not often exposed to this side of the military. You forget that when a Soldier/Airman/Marine/Sailor is deployed, their families are as well. I think that other organizations should take a cue from Sesame Street, and support military families and initiatives without making it a political issue. They have definitely made a difference for a lot of families effected by deployments and changes. Bravo...