; Whereas Sesame Street’s autism initiative promotes acceptance and understanding and helps children and families face everyday challenges, while fighting the stigma often associated with autism; Whereas Sesame Workshop’s groundbreaking new program, Sesame Street in Communities, is helping children in communities across the United States who are experiencing trauma such as family homelessness, parental substance abuse and addiction, or food insecurity; Whereas Sesame Workshop has, through Muppet Diplomacy , brought international attention to advance the importance of girls’ education and gender equity in Afghanistan, India, and countries in the Gulf Region, mutual respect and inclusivity in Northern Ireland and between the Israelis and Palestinians, and destigmatization of HIV/AIDS in South Africa; Whereas Sesame Workshop is working to help transform the lives of millions of the world’s most vulnerable children who have been displaced by the enduring, tragic conflict in Syria and providing for the educational needs of refugee populations in Bangladesh and throughout the Middle East; Whereas Sesame Workshop has trained hundreds of media professionals to create educational and entertaining puppet-based media for children, fostering new talent in the areas of production, puppeteering, and writing, among others; Whereas, for more than 5 decades, Sesame Workshop has partnered with foundations, corporations, and communities of all sizes to extend the reach of its programs and to support meaningful social impact work; Whereas Sesame Workshop has received a record-setting 192 Emmy awards to date and numerous other accolades, notably as the most impactful program in the history of television for its innovative work in using the power of media to help children learn and grow, preparing them for success in school and life