Local nonprofit wins the ‘Good Neighbor’ award

JACKSON, Tenn.–Since the passing of a beloved TV star, the local PBS station wanted to honor his memory with the first ‘Good Neighbor’ Award event.

“Last year, 2018 was the 50th anniversary of Fred Rogers, “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood,” said Jennifer Shell, manager of education and community engagement at WLJT-TV.

Shell wanted to also celebrate Rogers’ legacy by recognizing local nonprofits in Jackson.

“We selected six of them that we felt was a good mixture of nonprofits trying to help the community in a variety of ways,” Shell said.

The station invited the public to choose with a Facebook poll, to see which nonprofit could get the most votes.

“Then we gave an award to the Star Center, which received the most votes for their favorite nonprofit,” Shell said.

“Fred Rogers really believed that every human being, just the way God created them, was exactly the way they were supposed to be, and the Star Center believes that,” said Dave Bratcher, President of the Star Center.

The Star Center won the 2019 Good Neighbor Award.

Shell said this award is given to a nonprofit who is a good neighbor to its community.

“In honor of Fred Rogers and being a good neighbor that this is something that they exhibit, is being a good neighbor to the people around them,” said Shell.

Attendees of the event were asked to bring new or gently used sweaters for people in need to then be donated to RIFA and Area Relief Ministries.