Philadelphia, PA - September 22, 2009 - Sprout, the first 24-hour
preschool destination
available on TV, on demand and online for kids ages 2-5 and
their parents and
caregivers, will celebrate National Fire Prevention Week on The
Sunny Side Up Show with
games, activities, crafts and preschool-friendly fire safety
tips from award-winning
firefighter Dayna Hilton and her trained Dalmatian, Sparkles the
Fire Safety Dog.
Sponsored by State Farm, this special themed week on the live
Sunny Side Up Show begins
on Monday, October 5 at 9:00 a.m. E.T. and will also feature
exclusive, new CG-animated
episodes of Fireman Sam™.
Dayna and Sparkles will share fire safety tips such as:
• Get Low and Go - If you see or smell smoke, drop on all
fours…the air is cleaner
and cooler down by the floors…get low and go!
• Change Your Batteries - Time for change! The reason is
safety. The fall season
is when families change batteries in their smoke alarms
again.
• Be Smart Before Fires Start - To stay safe, here's
something you can do… stay
away from hot things that can hurt you. Be smart before
fires start!
"Illustrating simple, informative and life-saving messages in a
fun and memorable way is
what helps saves lives," said Dayna Hilton, firefighter, author
and recipient of the
2009 National Fire Protection Association Educator of the Year
Award. "Children under
the age of five are more vulnerable to injury or death in a fire
emergency than any
other age group, so it's never too soon to start teaching your
kids about fire safety."
"We're excited to be joining forces with Firefighter Dayna and
our sponsor State Farm to
share these important fire safety messages on Sprout," said
Andrew Beecham, senior vice
president of programming at Sprout. "Sprout is all about
creating a fun, interactive
experience for parents and kids to share together, so it's great
when we have an
opportunity to produce a noteworthy themed week like this on our
live Sunny Side Up
Show."
National Fire Prevention Week on Sprout wouldn't be complete
without Fireman Sam, the
Ultimate Hero Next Door. Fireman Sam has recently
undergone a significant program
refresh with the launch of this all new CG animated television
series that features new
characters, new seaside destinations and daring new rescue
missions. Based in the
picturesque town of Pontypandy, where they never seem to have a
quiet day, Fireman Sam
is often called to the rescue. Each episode communicates a
valuable lesson for children
regarding fire safety and social responsibility for the
community. The new CG-animated
episodes of Fireman Sam debuted exclusively in the US on Sprout
this September.
For additional information on Sprout programs or schedules, or
to play games, download
free coloring pages or find great activities for kids, visit
SproutOnline.com. To find
out where Sprout is available in your area, call 1.8.SPROUT.411
or go to
SproutPlease.com.
For more information on Firefighter Dayna, Sparkles the Fire
Safety Dog or the
award-winning children's book, Sparkles The Fire Safety Dog, go
to
www.firehousedogpublishing.com
or www.sparklesthefiresafetydog.com.
About Sprout®
PBS KIDS Sprout, the first 24-hour preschool destination available
on TV, on demand and
online for kids ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers, was
created as a partnership
among Comcast Corporation, HIT Entertainment, PBS and Sesame
Workshop. Since debuting
its video on demand (VOD) service in April 2005, Sprout has
become the #1 On Demand
service for younger children, generating over half a billion
views. 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 child from breakfast to
bedtime with its
distinctive programming. Currently, Sprout is available in
47 million unique
households.
The network's program lineup of gold-standard, curriculum-based
children's shows
includes: Sesame Street®, Bob the Builder™, Barney &
Friends™, The Wiggles®, Thomas &
Friends™, Angelina Ballerina™, Caillou®, The Berenstain Bears™,
Dragon Tales™, Make Way
For Noddy™, Fireman Sam™, Fifi and the Flowertots™ and more.
About State Farm®
State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in
the U.S., is the
leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in
Canada. State Farm's
17,700 agents and 68,600 employees serve 81 million policies and
accounts - more than
78.7 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United
States and Canada, and
more than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual
Automobile Insurance Company is
the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is
ranked No. 31 on the
Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information,
please visit statefarm.com®
or in Canada statefarm.ca®.
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Press Contact:
Jenni Glenn
Sprout
215-286-2703
jenni_glenn@sproutonline.com