“You’ve made this day a special day, by just your being you. There’s no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.” – Fred Rogers
In Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, kindness and compassion have resonated through his television show to millions of public viewers around the United States. For those of you that have never heard of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, it was a half-hour educational television series for children hosted by Fred Rogers. He discussed various issues through music, crafts and puppets to help young children learn about self-love and acceptance at an early age.
What is 1-4-3 Day?
Fred Rogers used ‘143’ as a special code for “I Love You.” This is based on the number of letters in each word. As a way to encourage residents to perform random acts of kindness and spreading love towards their own neighbors, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has declared May 23, 2019 as the Inaugural celebration of ‘1-4-3 Day’ since it is the 143rd day of the calendar year.
What better place to ignite this movement of good deeds than in the hometown of the television show that inspired it? As a statewide campaign, community members will encourage one another to share their stories, photos and videos on social media using #143DayPA.
While you might not live in Pennsylvania, you can participate in #143DayPA anywhere you are in the world. The cast of Up with People is doing just that.
Good Deeds From Up with People
Throughout the tour, the cast of Up with People visits various cities around the world for a full week. They spend time during that week to bring volunteer work and intercultural education to the people of that community.
In Metepec, Mexico, the cast of more than 100 people from various nationalities came together to help clean up a river to allow clean water to flow through the town. In Naucalpan, they led workshops for youths and adults to help educate them on cultural diversity, tolerance and how to have civil conversations on difficult topics.
In their upcoming European tour, the cast will continue to perform good deeds in Belgium, Denmark and Germany. This week, the cast will work with Sint-Godelieve, a residential care center that offers services for the elderly in Gistel, Belgium and the surrounding areas.
Through sharing their international traditions and music, the cast will be fully integrated for a full day of cultural celebration. They will also be sharing an international soup recipe withe the entire care facility.
Participate in 1-4-3 Day
There are many ways you can be an active participant in your local community, school or workplace on May 23. Not sure what to do? We have a list of random acts of kindness here that you can use to get you inspired to spread the love.
The 1-4-3 Day website also has a “Kindness Generator” which will generate new ideas of kindness when you click the button ‘Show Some Love.’
What will you do to show love to your fellow neighbor?
“The further we reach out, the closer we become.”
The Further We Reach Out © Up with People
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