New Initiative Uses Iconic Cartoon to Promote Worldwide Kindness

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Take Care of Yourself (focused on physical and mental wellness), Take Care of Each Other (community and philanthropy), and Take Care of the Earth (nature and sustainability)—that inspire a major worldwide philanthropic endeavor, among other components.

“TAKE CARE WITH PEANUTS is an initiative after my own heart, as it celebrates all the themes that my husband featured regularly in his comic strip,” says Jeanne Schulz, widow of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. “Sparky shared messages of taking care of each other and respecting nature for years—he was always a man ahead of his time!”

PHILANTHROPY: TAKING CARE WORLDWIDE
Philanthropic projects will be a key component of the initiative, starting with the TAKE CARE WITH PEANUTS Hospital Mural Program, a global collaboration between Peanuts Worldwide and the nonprofit Foundation for Hospital Art (FFHA). As part of FFHA’s mission to bring joyful art to hospitals around the world, Peanuts is donating 70 Snoopy-and-Woodstock murals to hospitals on six continents. Among the international participating cities are Beijing, Bogotá, Cape TownParisSeoulSydney, and Toronto (to name a few), along with 12 U.S. cities.

The program debuted on October 1 at One Brooklyn Health at Brookdale Hospital in New York, and at CHOC Children’s Hospital in Orange, California. A combination of volunteers, hospital staff, and patients at both hospitals joined together to paint the 49″ x 56″ murals, which feature an easy-to-follow template creating a cheerful image of Snoopy and Woodstock enjoying a hearty laugh atop Snoopy’s red-roofed doghouse. Each hospital around the world will feature the same mural, creating a global bond of community and caring.

The Foundation for Hospital Art project is just the beginning of a multi-year philanthropic enterprise, with charity partners in each Peanuts Worldwide territory joining the TAKE CARE WITH PEANUTS initiative.

SOCIAL MESSAGING VIDEOS: ANIMATED STORIES OF CARING
Original 1-minute animated videos featuring the Peanuts characters will highlight TAKE CARE themes throughout the initiative. The videos kick off on October 13 with Charlie Brown’s sister Sally singing an original song, “Take Care.” Starting in February 2021, ten original videos will be released each year, all­­­ dubbed into 10 languages.

LESSON PLANS: TEACHING KIDS TO TAKE CARE
Starting November 2020 on peanuts.com, teachers and parents can download free standards-based lesson plans in 11 languages from the curriculum experts at Young Minds Inspired (YMI). Designed for students ages 4–11, the lesson plans will feature the Peanuts characters and TAKE CARE themes will helping kids sharpen their STEM, Language Arts, and Social Studies skills.

APPLE TV+: TAKING CARE WITH “THE SNOOPY SHOW”
A new Apple Original series, “The Snoopy Show,” will debut globally February 5, 2021 on Apple TV+. Starring Snoopy and his many personas, one-third of the episodes will feature TAKE CARE WITH PEANUTS themes. “The Snoopy Show” is produced by WildBrain.

The Peanuts characters and related intellectual property are 41% owned by WildBrain Ltd. (TSX: WILD), 39% owned by Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and 20% owned by family of Charles M. Schulz.

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