26 Dec 2022 Charities are distributing items from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Sweater Drive

Arkansas PBS and 47 libraries across the state collected more than 2,500 sweaters in the 2022 Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Sweater Drive held Nov. 5-30 as a tribute to Fred Rogers and his example of being a caring neighbor. Items collected are now being distributed by local charities.

During the Neighborhood Sweater Drive, members of the community donated new or gently worn sweaters, as well as other cold-weather clothing, at participating libraries, the Arkansas PBS headquarters in Conway and the First Friends Preschool in Rogers. Participating libraries were encouraged to choose recipient organizations for the items they collected. The 20 organizations chosen for distribution include the Salvation Army, the Children’s Advocacy Alliance, public schools, senior centers and nursing homes, and many more.

Anyone in need of sweaters can contact the following libraries to learn more about distribution:

• Faulkner/Van Buren Regional Library in Conway.
• Central Arkansas Library System Main Branch Library in Little Rock.
• CALS Adolphine F. Terry Branch Library in Little Rock.
• CALS Dee Brown Branch Library in Little Rock.
• CALS Esther Nixon Branch Library in Little Rock.
• CALS Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center in Little Rock.
• CALS John Gould Fletcher Branch Library in Little Rock.
• CALS Oley E. Rooker Branch Library in Little Rock.
• CALS Roosevelt Thompson Branch Library in Little Rock.
• CALS Sidney Sanders McMath Branch Library in Little Rock.
• CALS Sue Cowan Williams Branch Library in Little Rock.
• CALS Maumelle Branch Library.
• CALS Max Milam Library in Perryville.
• CALS Amy Sanders Branch Library in Sherwood.
• Saline County Library in Benton.

“All of us, at some time or other, need help,” Fred Rogers said. “And, whether we’re giving or receiving a sweater, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That’s one of the things that connects us as neighbors – in our way, everyone is a giver and receiver.”

The statewide Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Sweater Drive was sponsored by Crain Buick GMC of Conway and 911 Restoration. Additional information is available at myarpbs.org/sweaterdrive.

To help set the tone for a “comfortable” visit with his young viewers, Rogers put on a sweater and changed into sneakers to help children settle in for “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” All of Rogers’ original sweaters were knitted by his mother, Nancy McFeely Rogers. Each year, she knitted a dozen sweaters and gave them to family and close friends at Christmas.

For more than 40 years, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” PBS’s longest-running children’s series, earned four Daytime Emmys. As a testament to his legacy, Rogers received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997 and was recognized in 2002 with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for his contributions to children’s development and education using broadcast television.

The Fred Rogers Company was founded by Rogers in 1971 as the nonprofit producer of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” for PBS. In the years that followed, it not only created hundreds of episodes, but it also extended Rogers’ values and approach to other efforts in promoting children’s social, emotional and behavioral health and supporting parents, caregivers, teachers and other professionals in their work with children. The Fred Rogers Company continues to build on his legacy through a wide variety of media and by engaging new generations of children and families with his timeless wisdom. Additional information is available at FredRogers.org.