Get Ready for Neighbor Day!

Next month we’ll be celebrating our fourth annual “Won’t You Be My Neighbor Day?” in honor of Fred Rogers’ birthday on March 20th. We hope you’ll join us.

One of the most popular ways that communities have participated in Neighbor Day is by having a Mister Rogers Sweater Drive. It’s a great opportunity to inspire the "good feelings" that come from being good neighbors.  First established to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Neighborhood series more than a decade ago, we estimate that over the years more than five million sweaters have been donated and distributed – some to places as far away as Tadzhikistan in the former Soviet Union!  It’s not too late for you celebrate this way.  To help communities large and small we developed a Sweater Drive Tool Kit with step-by step advice. We hope you’ll find it helpful.

There are other ways to join in the celebration. Here in Pittsburgh, Fred Rogers’ real neighborhood, The United Way of Allegheny County will be celebrating the spirit of volunteerism with volunteer appreciation events and good neighbor awards. We’re hoping that, just as in years past, neighbors across the country will find their own ways to celebrate Fred Rogers. If there is anything we can do to support your efforts, please contact Margy Whitmer. 

And of course, we’ll be wearing our sweaters and hoping you will be, too.

Fred’s spirit of caring and neighborliness lives on through the generosity he inspires in each of us.

"We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say 'It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.' Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”
- Fred Rogers