WASHINGTON (March 20) -- WHUT-TV has been awarded a “My Source” Community Impact Award for Education from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

Patricia Harrison, left, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), and Susan Zelman, right, CPB vice president for education, present WHUT General Manager Jennifer Lawson with the “My Source” Community Impact Award for Education.

The “My Source” Community Impact Awards for Education were created by CPB to recognize public television stations for their commitment to providing educational services to learners of all ages and abilities, all races and backgrounds, from pre-schoolers to senior citizens, as well as for the services the stations provide to teachers, parents and caregivers.

WHUT General Manager Jennifer Lawson expressed her appreciation.

“We are so pleased to have been given this honor,” Lawson said. “For the past year, we worked long and hard with families and children in Anacostia and other neighborhoods across the city to help kids learn to read.

“This award recognizes the hard work of the WHUT staff and the tradition of service that Howard University and the station exemplify.”

WHUT-TV, which broadcasts to over two million households in the Washington area, was recognized for its work in promoting early childhood literacy by hosting “Family Literacy Nights” at the Howard Road Academy Charter School in Anacostia. The events featured PBS KidsIsland, an online educational game site for children. It also included other literacy games for children, literacy related health and nutrition information for parents and readings by local authors.

Over the past year, WHUT-TV, which has won 13 regional Emmys and a Cine Golden Eagle, has worked with Howard Road Academy and several other school partners to engage both parents and students in activities designed to prepare 4 to 6 year-olds for school. Last summer, the station hosted a week-long summer camp using a popular PBS literacy oriented kid’s program, Super Why! at Ross Elementary near Dupont Circle and at Howard Road Academy. Plans are in the works for similar literacy camps for preschoolers.

About WHUT

WHUT-TV, a PBS member station licensed to Howard University, has been broadcasting since 1980 and offers community engagement activities in addition to its broadcast and website-based services. Its award winning series, Evening Exchange with Kojo Nnamdi, has been a Friday night fixture since its debut in 1981. Recent national productions include the award winning Security v Liberty: The Other War, which aired in the series, America at a Crossroads, and Dance Party, The Teenarama Story.

About CPB

CPB is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 and is steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,100 locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television and related online services

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Ron Harris
Director of Communications
202.683.0182