They didn’t show up in cardigans, but the people who gathered to help carry on Fred Rogers’ legacy Sunday kept the TV star’s memory close to their hearts.
Two days ago three college students learned that they had been chosen as the latest recipients of the Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship.
The 4-year-old scholarship program named for the popular children’s TV host awards students $10,000 each to help them fund media projects and studies that focus on such issues as children’s literacy and health.
Rogers’ 80-year-old wife Joanne said of the annual awards, “Fred would have been just ecstatic. He loved little children, but he also loved his big children, too.” Joanne Rogers went on to tell reporters that her husband was constantly stopped on city streets by high school and college students saying, “I grew up with you.”
“I find it such a blessing that someone’s life work would be recognized like this,” Joanne Rogers said of her husband, who died of cancer in 2002 at age 74.
In other awards news, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation and the academy’s children’s programming peer group just announced it plans to honor Scott Schultz and Christian Jacobs, creators of the kids music series “Yo Gabba Gabba!,” with the inaugural Innovation Award.
According to event organizers, the award recognizes programs or contributions that keep children’s TV fresh. “Yo Gabba Gabba!,” airs on Nick Jr. and Noggin and is one of the most popular shows on each network. The song packed show encourages toddlers and preschoolers to sing and dance along with the show’s characters.
Interestingly, my preschool age daughter avoids watching “Yo Gabba Gabba!” at all costs. Honestly, she would rather pick up toys in another room than sit through an episode. I know this because when we are at grandma and grandpa’s she will run out of a room when the show is put on for my 18-month-old nephew (who happens to be the show’s biggest fan).
Yet, they would both happily sit through a “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” marathon if they could.