2024 Impact Report
All in for children, all around the world.
From mental health challenges to humanitarian crises, families around the world faced big struggles in 2024. Sesame responded with joyful learning, nurturing care, and furry friendship to support their well-being. We’re all in to help children grow smarter, stronger, and kinder— with support from friends like you.
Look back at the impact we made together this year, at home and around the world.
Sesame’s work reached 1 billion children and adults, spanning 150 countries across 6 continents.
Sesame Street is the world’s most wholesome media brand, according to research.
When Elmo’s friendly check-in went viral in January, 2.8 million people responded, revealing the extent of today’s mental health crisis… and the critical need for our work.
The Sesame Street Muppets visited the Paris Olympics, reaching more than 116 million people across Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok to promote the importance of physical health and movement for emotional well-being.
As families endured a third year of war, Sesame reached nearly 1 million Ukrainians via TV and direct services to comfort children and support their learning and resilience.
We teamed up with 41 direct service partners, including Save the Children, World Vision, and Mercy Corps, who help bring our learning content directly to families.
Wherever preschool-age children watch media, Sesame is there. In 2024, our video collaborations with Blippi and HiHo Kids on YouTube attracted over 12 million views.
We’re there for caregivers, too. 91% of parents who took our Building a Connected Community course online agreed it positively changed their parenting.
We invited 1,908 parents and 498 early childhood educators to be part of our Sesame Squad research community, helping to ensure our content resonates with caregivers and teachers.
A fun, furry reception for young newcomers.
At our Comfy Cozy Space at the Mayflower Hotel in Queens, we’re greeting children of newly arrived migrant families with nurturing care, a stable routine, and opportunities for social play — all critical for their development. Full of cozy furniture and colorful Sesame Street educational activities, the Mayflower site serves more than 30 preschool-age children from across Latin America and the world. It’s part of Welcome Sesame, our expanding global effort to support families affected by crisis.
— Adrianis, volunteer and mother at the Mayflower Hotel
Deep investment in displaced children and families.
In 2018, The MacArthur Foundation made a daring $100-million bet on early childhood education in response to the Syrian refugee crisis. The resulting partnership between Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee has brought vital learning and support to a generation of children across the Middle East. Ahlan Simsim, or “Welcome Sesame” in Arabic, is the largest early childhood intervention in humanitarian history — and a model for prioritizing the needs of children in crisis zones.
In 2024, the final year of the MacArthur grant, we launched new seasons of the Ahlan Simsim TV show and updated our curriculum based on the latest research. With more children than ever living in areas of conflict, we’re determined to continue our support.
— John Palfrey, President, The MacArthur Foundation
Supporters & Partners
Visionary partners power our mission to help children grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. Thanks to their financial and strategic support, Sesame Workshop is reaching more families, educators, and community providers today than ever in our history.
Partners In Impact
Collaboration powers our mission-driven work around the world. Meet a few of our amazing partners from the past year.
Google.org
When it comes to children’s healthy use of technology, many parents feel unsure where to turn. That’s why we’ve partnered with Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the technology leader Google, to help families build healthy digital habits and make informed tech choices within their unique circumstances. Our new resources equip parents and providers with practical tools to support children’s development, enhance overall family well-being, and prepare children to grow up smarter, stronger, and kinder in an increasingly digital world.
Morgan Stanley Foundation
The needs of young children are too often overlooked in the wider mental health crisis. That’s why the Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children’s Mental Health is expanding its work focusing on early detection and prevention. With support from the Alliance, Sesame Workshop is partnering with early childhood networks that serve marginalized communities — including Head Start programs and Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) care providers — to help identify and manage signs of emotional distress and increase support for children’s well-being across their circles of care.
Department of Defense
Sesame Workshop has worked with the U.S. Department of Defense to support military families for nearly 20 years. In 2024, we built on this foundation by creating new tools that support the emotional well-being of children and adults alike and refreshed our project visuals to reflect diverse military families. Sesame Street for Military Families continues to celebrate military life and reflect the transitions and milestones that today’s military families experience.
USAID Iraq
Sesame Workshop is partnering with USAID to produce Ahlan Simsim Iraq, a program promoting inclusion, mutual respect, and understanding across ethnic, religious, and sectarian groups. Our work includes digital outreach and local TV broadcasts to families, tools for caregivers and teachers to promote early learning, and opportunities for Iraqi youth to meaningfully engage in community dialogue.
Running with Team Sesame
Sesame Workshop is proud to be an Official Charity Partner of the TCS New York City Marathon. Since 2021, more than 30 runners have joined us from around the world, collectively raising more than $100,000 in unrestricted support for Sesame Workshop’s social impact programs.
Want to make your miles count? Get involved as a runner and fundraiser for Sesame Workshop by contacting giving@sesame.org.
Funding Supports $500-$24,999
$500 – $999
Nor Abramson
Nancy Alliegro
Susan Arnold
Russell E. Atha
Cameron Barnhart
Melissa Bashardoust
Roxanne Bashardoust
Colleen Begley
Kimberlee Bell
James R. Berger
Steven Bernstein
Lambert Bill
Carol Blair
Laura Blasi
Jaqui Blass
Leslie Blum
Carolyn Boitnott
Amie Bonner
Richard Botzler and Sally Botzler
Mark Braverman
Jonathan Bray
Fran Brill
C.J. Brucato
Damien Bulfin
Lisa Burke
Nick Callahan
Victor Chan
Glenn Chase
Kathleen Cheevers
Eric Chen
Children’s Music Network
Jannette Chisholm
Hyonjin Rosie Cho
Theresa Christensen
Garrett Christian
Malcolm Cleaveland
Jerry Colonna
Rosemary Coluccio
Leigh Condie
Elizabeth Contri Bedell
Ellen M. Corwin
Bonnie Crawford
Andrew Dayton
Jenelle DeCoteau
Dr. Omaima Degani
Sharad Devarajan
Eva Dillion
Lindsay Diokno
Holly Earle
Bonnie A. Eisler
Irving C. Faber
Karen Flitterman
Tessa Sage Flores
Seth Fradkoff
Rick Franceschini
Valentin Fuster
Alvin Garcia
Jennifer Geller
Leila Ghaznavi
Patrick Gillespie
Luis Gomez
Caroline Greco
Alice Suzanne Hamilton
Nancy Mueller Handal
Dr. Arian Hatefi
Jessica Herman
Jeffrey P. Hermann
Ann Van Hine
Beatrice Hines
Fred P. Hochberg
Tia Hodges
Carolyn Holland
Homies HongKong
Russell Hooker
Ilana Horwitz
Christina Hostler
Jacquelien Hou
Evelyn Howard
Koon-Sea Hui
Murali Iyer
Linda and Morton Janklow
Craig Johns
Amy Beth Jordan, Ph.D.
Gerald Kaminsky
David Kamsler
Ilene B. Kayne
Gloria Keegan
John and Sangeetha Kelly
Courtney Kenneally
Lyndsay Kile
Priscilla Kremer
Lynn Kroll
Douglas Kudler
Janet Kutner
Bill Lambert
Louis and Rajani LaRocca
Cynthia (Cindi) Leive
Nate Lerner
Rachel Levine
Ichun Li
Vivian Lynn
Elisa Maas
Melanie Marshall
Robert and Sandra Marus
Marie Maynard
Jennifer McClear
Kimberly Mccleskey
Beth Fawver McCormack
Sean McMains
Jennifer Merriam
Janet Merriam
Mark Middleton
Amanda Milleisen
Steven and Jennifer Millman
S. Moran
Nicole Mourillon
Angela Mullins
Norma Murray
Sateesh Nabar
Barbara Nagaoka
Kathleen Napleton
Natalie Abrahamian
Steve Nelson
Pattie Pardini-Barrett
Patcheco-Wright Building Strong Communities Fund
Peter Pefanis
Wendy Pincus
Dr. Ryan Pirooz
Vernessa Poole
Jay Porter
Angela Powel
Roz Prescott
Mr. Stephen Prest
Terri Prettyman Bowles
Gayle Richard
Lynda J. Robb
Deborah Roberts and Al Roker
Robinson Giving Fund
Timothy A. Robert
Ann and Mike Russo
Karen Ryan
Stephen Ryan
David Saffold
Roberta Schimek
Larkin A. and Daniel Schmidt
Shirley Schmidt
Susan Schow
Carole and Gordon Segal
Jenn Seloover
Lori Semeraro
Eileen Seyfarth
Kisti Shah
Michael Sher
Rick Shipley
Erin Slyne
Rochelle Smahl
Alex Smith
Alessandro Spaziani Montagna
Sara Stauffer
Jane Stein
Matthew Stoltzfus
Linda Stork
Original Strategies
Patricia Sylvester
Myrtie K. Taylor
Freda and Gary Temple
The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Gard Thompson
Adam Till
Brian Tillman
Jason Tomita
Gilda Torabian
James Trigg
TX Workforce
Susan van der Veer
Wendy Vanderzee
Anish Vashistha
Brenda Ventura
Jean Weinberg
Scott Willie
Allison Wood
Jackie Wozniak
Laura Yaeger
Stephanie Ybarra
Jonathan Yu
Juliette Zener And David Fairman
Sallyann Zhou
Emily Zielke
Andrew Anna and Simon Zuchelli
$1,000 – $2,499
Neva Alsheik
Wendy Bailey
Emily Bever
Marilyn and Tom Bloom
Marianne Borelli
Wes & Susan Bowen
Matthew Brennan
Bright Funds Foundation
Laura Brown
Sally and Ronald S. Burns
Robyn Cenizal
Joanne Chan
Asheem Chandna
Juju Chang and Neal Shapiro
Nichole Charfoos
Charlotte and Taylor Chess
Jill and Dan Ciporin
Adam and Tracy Collins
Marty Collins
Anne Martinelli and Greg Courtwright
CPP Associates
Alison Cruz
Jeffrey Dennis
Disguise, Inc.
Tom Dittmer
Malik Ducard
Arne and Karen Duncan Fund
Nicole and Paul Dunoguez
Juanita Evans
Zachary Oden
Fairy Godmother Society
Karen Falk and Michael Goldman
Laurent and Anne-Laure Faracci
Lauren Fenenbock
Kaitlin Fink
Pledgeling Foundation
Geoffrey Fradkin
Bernard Friedman
Rita D. Fuchsberg
Nancy Godreau
Douglas Golann
Brett Goldstein
Enrique Gonzalez
Kevin Gore
Lance Gotko
Nichola Gray
Marcus Gray
Bruce Griffin
Alejandra Guillen
Yvette Montijo
Zaid Haque
Jim Kelly and Lisa Henricksson
Dr. Zachary Herrmann
Michela Hugo
John A. Rodger Jr Foundation
Mary Josepho
Miranda and Philip Kaiser
Mrs. Lena Kaplan
Krystal King
Bob Landreth and Donna Landreth
Larry P. Thomas Foundation
James Leckman
Amy Lemieux
The Levine Family
Jesse Lock
The Loesch Family Trust
Connie and Bob Lurie
Magiesu Foundation
Samantha and John-Claude Saltiel
Susan Maughlin Wood
Kelley McCormick
Grisanti McLeod Family Fund
John Meikrantz
Melissa Moores
Sean P. Moran
Susan Morris
Srikanth Nallamothu
Deborah Neimeth
Network For Good
Christopher Neylan
Rebecca Ng
Robert O’Keefe
Mike O’Reilly
June Ozmon
Warby Parker
Joshua Platek
Murray & Marci Rabinowitz
Deborah Ratner
Maura & Paul Robinson
John Rodger
Kathy Rowe
Rachel Schamaier
Tracy Sefl
Diana Sherwood
Alexandra Shiva
Gil Shiva*
Anne Simpson
John Smith III
Silda Wall Spitzer
St. Thomas More Play Group
Geoffrey Stirling
Linda Swanson
Joseph and Eileen Tarantino
Dr. Jennifer Taw
Terri Thompson
TisBest Philanthropy
Ed Trissel
Christy Turlington and Ed Burns
Peter van der Goes
Lela Vickery
Meredith Vieira and Richard Cohen
Bennet S. Yee
Edward Zinbarg
*in memoriam.
$2,500 – $7,499
& Juliet on Broadway
Aron and Rachel Accurso
Anonymous
Anonymous
Apple TV+
John Barbato
Hilary Bishop Scott
Linda Boynton
Jim Breyer
Lisa Brezonik
Amanda Burden
Isobel Case
Susan C. and Edward J. Ciolkosz
Richard Cochran
Andrea and Timothy Collins
Corporate Synergies Group
Danielle Depippo
Elizabeth and Antonio DeSpirito
Judy and Jamie Dimon
Jodie Eastman
Richard Edelman
Will and Irene Edwards
Cheryl and Blair Effron
Amy and Charles Entelis
EVT Corp.
Zita J. Ezpeleta and Kewsong Lee
Abby Fink
Mary D. Fisher Fund
The Ford Foundation
Give Lively Foundation
Jason and Emily Graefe
Hilary and Bryant Gumbel
Guru Studio
Maryanne and James Gutknecht
Suzanne and Phillip C. Handal
Jane Henson Foundation
Rachel Hines
Dr. Camille Humes
Willow Bay and Bob Iger
Carl R. Kuehner
Deborah and Peter Lamm
Kim Larson and Gary Knell
The Beale/Lauridsen Family
Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovevery, Inc.
Chairman Lowey and Mr. Lowey
Jillian Manus
Christi McCloud
McKelvey Family Foundation
Carolyn McMicken and Michael Shoemaker
Nihal Mehta
Craig Melvin & Lindsay Czarniak
Sarah Meredith and Rob Meredith
Merrill Lynch & Co.
Frank Pacione
Sallyan and Stephen Pelletier
PNC Foundation
Quatt Associaes
Rohan Rai
Rattner Family Foundation, Inc.
Carrie Rhodes Nigam
Jess Richardson
Florence Ann Romano and The Agape Foundation
Benita and Michael Romano
Ambassador Catherine Russell and Mr. Tom Donilon
Lauren Salem
Jake Schatz and Katie Albright
Scott Scrivner
Nick Silvers and Katie Zorn
Sinking Ship
Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP
Martha Stewart
Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum
Tina Tchen
The Grable Foundation
The Zacchaeus Foundation
ThoughtMatter
Clark Trimmer
UBS
Virtual Running Club
Ellen Wartella
Leslie K. Williams and James A. Attwood, Jr.
YouTube Kids
Jill Zabel
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas
$7,500 – $14,999
Jurate Kazickas and Roger Altman
American Dream
Anonymous
Susan Berry and Brian T. Moynihan
Anoosheh Bostani
Kenneth Chenault
Jennifer Clarke
Kenneth Cole
Creative Artists Agency
Debbie & Bill Demchak
Friedman Kaplan Seiler Adelman & Robbins LLP
Gary and Lori Cohen Charitable Fund
Darin Grant
Hearst
Cheryl Henson and Ed Finn
Jacqueline and Frans Hijkoop
Humana Inc.
Ross & Nicole Kennedy
Nick and Terri Koberstein
The Ronald and Jo Carole Lauder Foundation
Little Sleepies
MicroMem
Herbert Ong
Maureen White and Steven Rattner
Reach Capital
Keith Reinhard
Shonda Rhimes
Robin Roberts and Amber Laign
ServiceNow
Gabrielle Sulzberger
Noah Sutter
Target
Tishman Speyer
Lynn and Jeffrey N. Watanabe
Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation
Ruth Zamist
Mary and Jeffrey Zients
$15,000 – $24,999
Arian Allen
Anonymous
Valerie Jarrett
Chelli Jones
Paul and Alison Lindley
The Briar Foundation
Pure Storage
Miriam Rivera
Funding Supports $25,000-$1,000,000+
$25,000 – $99,999
Anonymous
Shari and Jeff Aronson
Beaches Resorts
Afsaneh and Michael Beschloss
Lisa and Jeff Bewkes
BlackRock
Bloomberg Philanthropies
The Box Impact Fund
Ursula Burns
CGI
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Disney
Karen and Jeff Dunn
Vanessa and Lee Eastman
EGL Charitable Foundation
Kathy & Henry Elsesser
Foot Locker
Fundación Banorte
Gamesa Corp
Goldman Sachs Gives
The Marc Haas Foundation/Stanley S. Shuman
Carla Harris
Marlene Hess and James D. Zirin
Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation
Barbara and Amos Hostetter
Ichor Strategies
Inter-American Development Bank
The Jones/Davis Family
Kaufman Astoria Studios
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
Kirkland & Ellis
Jenna Mack
Macy’s Studio
Michael and Elizabeth Manasse
MetLife Foundation
Microsoft
Tom and Janet Montag
Munchkin
James L. and Margo M. Nederlander
Netflix
Partners Capital Investment Group, LLP
P&G
Protiviti
PSEG
The Raine Group
Anita Tandon and Sujit Chakravarthy
TIAA-CREF
Tide Foundation
Ann and Andrew Tisch
United Parks and Resorts
Warner Music Group / Arts Music
Weiss Family Foundation
Sherrie and David Westin
$100,000 – $249,999
Administration for Children and Families of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance
Just Play Cares
Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc.
Christy and John Mack
Ogden Cap Properties
Pfizer Inc.
Presidio
DoubleTree by Hilton
The Arne and Steffi Siegel Endowment of Montana Community Foundation
United Airlines
Walton Family Foundation
$250,000 – $499,999
Anonymous
Anonymous
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)
Joan Ganz Cooney
Fundación FEMSA
Wounded Warrior Project
David and Lucile Packard Foundation
PNC Foundation
U.S. Fire Administration
$500,000–$999,999
Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts
Internet Society Foundation
$1,000,000+
Dollar General Literacy Foundation
Google.org
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
Kohl’s Cares
LEGO Foundation
Vincent and Anne Mai
Morgan Stanley Foundation
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
Peter G. Peterson Foundation
U.S. Agency for International Development
U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. Department of Education
UnitedHealthcare
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