New York Life Foundation announces 2024 Day of Learning “Growing as We Grieve” livestream featuring Sesame Workshop.

On November 14, Sesame Street characters Elmo and Jesse will join early education and grief experts in New York Life Foundation-sponsored Children’s Grief Awareness Month event to discuss how best to support grieving children.

NEW YORK - The New York Life Foundation today announced the publicly available livestream of the 2024 Day of Learning “Growing as We Grieve” event hosted in partnership with Sesame Workshop, the global impact nonprofit behind Sesame Street. The Foundation’s annual event in honor of Children’s Grief Awareness Month will take place on Thursday, November 14 from 2–4p.m. ET. Event programming will be livestreamed here so families, supportive adults, and grief experts across communities can learn how to better support grieving children.

“Since 2008, the New York Life Foundation has been committed to understanding the impacts of childhood bereavement and providing resources for bereaved families and the supportive adults in a child’s life,” said Heather Nesle, president of the New York Life Foundation. “Our 2024 Day of Learning event, made possible with longstanding partner Sesame Workshop, will highlight the significant impact of loss on our youngest grievers and how they can be best supported in their homes and schools. All who stand to benefit are encouraged to join this year’s livestream.”

New York Life Chair, President & CEO Craig DeSanto will open the event followed by a special conversation with beloved Sesame Street characters Elmo and Jesse to discuss loss and how they keep the memory of Elmo’s Uncle Jack alive.

A suite of bereavement resources developed by Sesame Workshop, made possible with support from the New York Life Foundation, for children and adults will be presented as well. The event will conclude with a panel of early education specialists and grief experts discussing the support young children need following a significant loss. Speakers include:

• Jeanette Betancourt, Ed. D., senior vice president of U.S. social impact of Sesame Workshop
• Megan Lopez, MSW, LMSW, national program director of National Alliance of Children’s

Grief

• Heather Nesle, president of New York Life Foundation

Partnering with Sesame Workshop

The New York Life Foundation and Sesame Workshop share a deep commitment to supporting families with young children – especially as it relates to coping with death, and the multi-faceted, ever-changing, enduring nature of loss. In January 2024, the New York Life Foundation renewed its support to expand the Workshop’s suite of grief resources dedicated to helping young children understand their feelings and how they can keep the memory of their loved ones alive.

This year, Sesame Workshop published a digital, interactive resource “Growing as We Grieve,” which was created through support from the New York Life Foundation. The website and suite of tools help adults understand how feelings of grief change over time and how they can speak to children regarding loss, providing advice from grief experts, real-life testimonials from adults and children who have experienced loss, and tools and exercises for young children. In recognition for raising childhood grief awareness through impactful design, “Growing as We Grieve” was named the 2024 People’s Voice Winner by the Webby Awards and was recently named as an Anthem Awards finalist.  

Sesame Workshop recently shared a powerful conversation on grief featuring Elmo and actor Andrew Garfield highlighting the importance of open and direct conversation when dealing with loss. The video can be found here.

Families, supportive adults, and grief experts nationwide interested in learning how to better support grieving children can register for the event here.

ABOUT THE NEW YORK LIFE FOUNDATION

Inspired by New York Life’s tradition of service and humanity, the New York Life Foundation has, since its founding in 1979, provided over $440 million in charitable contributions to national and local nonprofit organizations. The Foundation supports programs that benefit young people, particularly in the areas of educational enhancement, childhood bereavement and social justice. The Foundation also encourages and facilitates the community involvement of employees and agents of New York Life through its Volunteers for Good program and Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative. To learn more, please visit www.newyorklifefoundation.org.

ABOUT SESAME WORKSHOP

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, the pioneering television show that has been reaching and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. We’re present in more than 150 countries, serving vulnerable children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically funded social impact programs, each grounded in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities we serve. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org and follow Sesame Workshop on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok.

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