Brookfield, Wis. – The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is partnering with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, to distribute When Families Grieve, a bilingual (English and Spanish) multimedia resource kit, featuring the Muppets from Sesame Street, for young children and families who have experienced the death of a parent.

When Families Grieve was created as part of Sesame Workshop's Talk, Listen, Connect initiative, the goal of which is to help families cope with difficult transitions. Sesame's outreach initiatives harness the power of the Sesame Street Muppets to aid the communication between adults and children through strategies and language that are child-appropriate and useful for the whole family.

The materials aim to:

• Reduce the levels of anxiety, sadness and confusion that children may experience following the death of a parent.
• Provide families with age-appropriate tools to support and comfort children, including ways to talk about death with a young child.
• Reassure children that they are loved and safe and that, together with their families and friends, they can learn ways of being there for one another and move forward.

The When Families Grieve kits were developed by leading experts in child development and mental health and include:

• A DVD featuring the Sesame Street Muppets and documentary footage of families that have experienced the death of a parent due to a variety of situations, including illness, suicide, and sudden and natural causes.
• A printed guide for parents and caregivers that provides tips, strategies and activities to help comfort and reassure children during difficult times.
• A children's storybook designed to comfort children as they cope with the death of a parent.

Sesame Workshop is distributing When Families Grieve kits, at no cost, to families with children who have experienced the death of a parent with the assistance of organizational partners, including associations such as NFDA, schools, grief centers and counselors, and other organizations that serve families and children. NFDA is the only funeral service association working with Sesame Workshop to share these kits with the public.

All funeral professionals may view the materials in the When Families Grieve kit by visiting www.sesamestreet.org/grief. Funeral directors may also wish to consider including a link to the Sesame Street website on their funeral home website.

Free copies of the kit will be available to funeral professionals attending the 2010 NFDA International Convention & Expo, October 10-13 in New Orleans, La., in the NFDA Central area. Any funeral director can obtain up to three free printed copies of the When Families Grieve kit for use in their funeral home and community by emailing their request to grief@sesameworkshop.org; kits are available from Sesame Workshop while supplies last.

NFDA is the world's leading funeral service association, serving 18,500 individual members who represent more than 9,900 funeral homes in the United States and internationally. From its headquarters in Brookfield, Wis., and its Advocacy Division office in Washington, D.C., NFDA informs, educates and advocates to help members enhance the quality of service they provide to families. For more information, visit www.nfda.org.

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Contacts: Jessica Koth, 262-814-1536; Emilee High, 262-814-1547