![Mister Rogers putting on sweater_Photo Credit The Fred Rogers Company[4907].jpg](https://richmondmagazine.com/downloads/26514/download/Mister%20Rogers%20putting%20on%20sweater_Photo%20Credit%20The%20Fred%20Rogers%20Company%5B4907%5D.jpg?cb=19cf05591882ef6ed7c6aebcfa915235&w={width}&h={height} "Mister Rogers putting on sweater_Photo Credit The Fred Rogers Company[4907].jpg")
VPM is sponsoring a sweater drive in honor of late television host Fred Rogers. Winter clothing is being collected a several area locations during the month of September. (Photo courtesy The Fred Rogers Company)
Won’t you help your neighbor? In honor of the late Fred Rogers, the soft-spoken, sweater-clad icon whose program “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” has aired on children's television for decades, Virginia's home for Public Media (VPM, formerly the Community Idea Stations), along with Virginia Family Dentistry and Crossroads Art Center, are sponsoring the "Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood" Sweater Drive throughout September.
This is the second sweater drive that VPM has sponsored and the first in over seven years. The reboot of the charity drive coincides with the November release of the film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” starring Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers.
The first incarnation of the event collected around 700 new and used sweaters, according to Terry Menefee-Gau, event manager at VPM. Due to the difficulty of cleaning used sweaters, organizers are only accepting new items this time around.
Despite the name, sweaters aren’t the only items being accepted during the drive. “We are looking for things that help keep people warm,” Menefee-Gau said. “Jackets, gloves … we want anything that can keep folks warm.”
Collection boxes are located outside VPM’s Richmond studios (23 Sesame St.), all area locations of Virginia Family Dentistry, Crossroads Art Center (2016 Staples Mill Road) and World of Mirth (3005 W. Cary St.) in Carytown. Donations will be accepted through Sept. 30.
