Resources for You and Your Family
A Letter from Ron Hetrick, WITF President & CEO
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Staff
Dear Friends,
This is a difficult time.
As a community, we are trying to determine what to do – or not to do – to be good family members, neighbors, citizens, employees and consumers. WITF is here to help with information and resources to assist you and your loved ones.
WITF is committed to providing trusted, timely, contextualized news coverage of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. We are bringing alternative, informative programming on the coronavirus to you when it is available. We are supporting caregivers who are continuing learning at home with PBS KIDS and PBS Parents resources. Below, you’ll find links and information to keep handy.
Coronavirus News Coverage | Our goal is to equip you with the information you need. WITF journalists are working tirelessly to provide in-depth coverage of a rapidly changing situation. Rather than chase every update, we’ll keep things in context and focus on helping you make decisions. Every day this week, Smart Talk will focus on how the coronavirus is impacting you. Special emphasis will be placed on answering callers’ questions. Listen live at 9am on WITF 89.5 & 93.3 or to the rebroadcast weeknights at 7pm. You can stream yesterday’s program featuring a segment on nursing homes here. You can hear WITF and PA Post regional coverage on WITF 89.5 & 93.3 during Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. Our online updates are curated here.
Special Programming | On Wednesday and Thursday, WITF 89.5 & 93.3 will broadcast a national program, COVID-19: Hard Questions, Real Answers at 2pm. MPR News Host Kerri Miller hosts a live call-in special. You are invited to call in and ask medical and public health professionals hard questions. Also on Thursday, PBS will present Confronting Coronavirus: A PBS NewsHour Special at 8pm on WITF TV. The special focuses on public and personal health, as well as economic impact and will feature a virtual town hall with curated questions from people across America.
Talking to Our Little Ones | How do we explain the changes in our routine to our most impressionable? PBS KIDS, a leader in trusted communication with children, has been curating fantastic resources that can ease both your worries and your child’s worries. You’ll find a guide to how to talk to your children, as well as video clips featuring favorite characters like Daniel Tiger and The Cat in the Hat, with tips on hand washing and explaining germs. An article from a real mom, videos and more are here.
Activities for Early Learners | K-12 schools are closed. PBS KIDS is here to help. PBS KIDS Daily is a new eblast that is sent each weekday morning that has activities, tips, videos and more, so you can keep your kids playing and learning while school is closed. Signup for the newsletter is here.
We are dedicated to promoting best practices for the health and safety of you, our staff and our neighbors. We are open, but in a special way:
- Our programming continues, but the Public Media Center is open to essential staff only.
- We have asked the majority of staff to work remotely. We are checking our email and voicemail, so please leave us a message. We will get back to you as soon as we can.
- Events through April 10 have been canceled or postponed.
- Tours of the Public Media Center are suspended.
WITF is grateful to our members and sponsors for their support. Without your financial support of public media, we would not be able to provide these resources to you. Please consider supporting our work and mission through an online donation here.
Wishing you and yours continued health and safety,
Ron Hetrick
WITF President & CEO
