WUCF TV, Central Florida’s PBS station, will honor community superheroes today — National Superhero Day — by expanding its award-winning video series, Meet the Helpers, which teaches children about people who help keep them safe.
New videos feature a mental-health counselor, youth helper, line worker and scientist who discusses the importance of vaccines. Previous videos in the series explained the importance of firefighters, police officers, teachers, doctors, paramedics, meteorologists and 9-1-1 operators.
The videos, aimed at children 3 to 8, air on WUCF TV between programming, and are available on YouTube and the Meet the Helpers website. They are also available free to public media stations across the country for broadcasting in their communities.
“The Meet the Helpers initiative continues to tell the stories of the heroes in our communities across the country,” says. Phil Hoffman, WUCF executive director. “These videos and activities show children and families the importance of helpers and how to be a helper to others.”
In addition to community helpers, WUCF also produced videos in the series to help families understand the coronavirus and wearing masks.
Meet the Helpers is developed by WUCF and national experts in early childhood development from the UCF College of Community Innovation and Education, and crisis communications from the UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media.
The project is part of WUCF’s outreach following the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016. Meet The Helpers is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Duke Energy, and the Paul B. and Constance D. Hunter Foundation.
To learn more about the latest videos from Meet the Helpers visit meetthehelpers.org.
