Too Small to Fail, a Joint Initiative of the Clinton Foundation and Next Generation, Joins with Univision to Launch Early Childhood Development Program “Pequeños y Valiosos” (Young and Valuable)

NEW YORK--()--On Tuesday, February 4, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Univision Communications Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Randy Falco will launch a partnership between Univision and Too Small to Fail, a joint initiative of Next Generation and the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.

The event will mark the beginning of a multi-year partnership with Univision Communications Inc., the leading media company serving Hispanic America, as part of the Company’s Univision Contigo (Univision With You) empowerment efforts. Building upon Univision’s award-winning education initiative and Too Small to Fail’s mission to help parents and businesses take meaningful actions to improve the health and well-being of children ages zero to five, the partnership, branded in Spanish as “Pequeños y Valiosos,” will deliver expert research, commentary and information across Univision platforms.

As indicated in Too Small to Fail’s strategic roadmap, early health and learning directly impacts an individual’s long-term productivity and success. The more parents speak with their children, the faster their children’s vocabularies grow, laying the groundwork for future academic success. “Pequeños y Valiosos” will direct its efforts at Hispanic parents and other caregivers of children ages zero to five, encouraging them to talk, read, and sing with their children in order to develop their language and vocabulary skills.

“At Univision we are proud to work with parents and children to help our community succeed. We invest in initiatives and partnerships that provide them access to the resources and information they need in this regard,” said Randy Falco, president & CEO of Univision Communications Inc. “As our education initiative marks its fourth year, the partnership with Next Generation, the Clinton Foundation, and many other education organizations, will help us amplify our commitment by delivering the best information possible about early childhood development to the Hispanic community.”

The partners also launched a new feature section on Univision’s website, www.univision.com/educacion, which offers factsheets, tips and special content for Spanish-speaking parents provided by Too Small to Fail’s partner organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, First Book, the National Council of La Raza, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Sesame Workshop, and Zero to Three. Additionally, as part of “Pequeños y Valiosos”, Univision Contigo, Too Small to Fail and their partner organizations will make available thousands of books and other informational materials to families across the country at special events organized by Univision’s local affiliate stations, the first of which is scheduled for Saturday, February 22, in Austin, Texas.

Univision Contigo is inviting parents to take a pledge to dedicate uninterrupted time every day to interacting with their children on its website, www.univisioncontigo.com. Barbara Bermudo, award-winning journalist and anchor for Univision’s award winning newsmagazine “Primer Impacto” (First Impact), will serve as a national spokesperson for the partnership.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Univision to share the newest science about early childhood with Hispanic families,” said Jim Steyer, board chair and co-founder of Next Generation.

Patti Miller, director of Too Small to Fail for the Clinton Foundation, added: “Hispanics represent the fastest growing population in the United States, and the decisions parents and caregivers make today will influence their children’s futures and the future of our country for years to come.”

The partnership will launch with a “roadblock” of special programming promoting early learning across Univision Network's programs, including segments on Hispanic America’s top morning show “Despierta América” (Wake Up America), the leading Spanish-language daily newsmagazine “Primer Impacto” (First Impact), on Univision’s nightly evening news “Noticiero Univision,” as well as in local news across Univision affiliates and on Dr. Isabel’s national radio program on Univision Radio’s AM network Univision America. Following the launch, special programming focused on early education and learning, as well as Univision Contigo public service announcements featuring Univision personalities, will be introduced across Univision’s networks and affiliate stations.

Click here for information on how to access video footage from today’s launch event in New York City.

About Too Small to Fail

Too Small to Fail, a joint initiative of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation and Next Generation, aims to help parents, communities and businesses take meaningful actions to improve the health and well-being of children ages zero to five, so that more of America’s children are prepared to succeed in the 21st century.

In 2014, Too Small to Fail will focus its work on closing the “word gap.” Studies have found that by age three, children in middle and upper class families hear 15 million more words than children in working-class families, and 30 million more words than children in families on welfare. This disparity in hearing words from parents and caregivers translates directly into a disparity in learning words. And that puts our children born with the fewest advantages even further behind. Among those born in 2001, only 48 percent of poor children started school ready to learn, compared to 75 percent of children from middle-income families.

The “word gap” is a significant but solvable challenge. Too Small to Fail is about parents, caregivers, other concerned individuals, and the private sector coming together to take small, research-based actions with big impacts.

Learn more at www.toosmall.org and on Twitter @2SmalltoFail.

About The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation

The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation convenes businesses, governments, NGOs, and individuals to improve global health and wellness, increase opportunity for women and girls, reduce childhood obesity, create economic opportunity and growth, and help communities address the effects of climate change. Because of our work, 20,000 American schools are providing kids with healthy food choices in an effort to eradicate childhood obesity; 21,000 farmers in Malawi have improved their incomes by more than 500 percent; 248 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions are being reduced in cities worldwide; more than 5,000 people have been trained in marketable job skills in Colombia; more than 6.8 million people have benefited from lifesaving HIV/AIDS medications; $100 million in strategic investments have been made, impacting the health of 50 million people in the U.S.; and members of the Clinton Global Initiative have made nearly 2,800 Commitments to Action to improve more than 430 million lives around the world.

Learn more at www.clintonfoundation.org, and on Twitter @ClintonFdn.

About Next Generation

Next Generation promotes solutions to two of the biggest challenges confronting the next generation of Americans: The risk of dangerous climate change, and the threat of diminished prospects for children and families. Through the use of non-partisan research, policy development, and strategic communications, we identify strategies that help deploy clean, advanced energy technologies; we also work to ensure a level playing field from which today’s kids can build a brighter future.

Learn more at www.thenextgeneration.org,www.facebook.com/thenextgeneration.org and on Twitter @nextgen_USA.

About Univision Communications Inc.

Univision Contigo – in partnership with leading organizations serving Hispanic America – focuses on the most significant opportunities for the U.S. Hispanic community, and provides a range of valuable resources that enables Latinos and their families to take immediate action across four building blocks of success: Education, Health, Prosperity and Participation. Univision Contigo is the empowerment brand for Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), the leading media company serving Hispanic America. The Company, a leading content creator in the U.S., includes Univision Network, one of the top five networks in the U.S. regardless of language and the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the country reaching approximately 96% of U.S. Hispanic television households; UniMás, a leading Spanish-language broadcast television network reaching approximately 89% of U.S. Hispanic television households; Univision Cable Networks, including Galavisión, the country’s leading Spanish-language cable network, as well as Univision tlnovelas, a 24-hour cable network dedicated to novelas, Univision Deportes Network, a 24-hour cable network dedicated to sports, ForoTV, a 24-hour Spanish-language cable network dedicated to news, and an additional suite of six cable offerings - De Película, De Película Clásico, Bandamax, Ritmoson, Telehit and Distrito Comedia; Univision Television Group, which owns and/or operates 62 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; Univision Radio, the leading Hispanic radio group which owns and/or operates 69 radio stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico, as well as Uforia, the leading Hispanic digital music service; UVideos, the first bilingual digital video network serving Hispanic America; an Interactive network of online and mobile apps and products including Univision.com, which continues to be the No. 1 most-visited Spanish-language website among U.S. online Hispanics, and Univision Partner Group, a specialized advertising and publisher network. UCI’s assets also include a minority stake in El Rey Network, a new 24-hour English-language network founded by maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, and a joint venture with Disney/ABC Television Network for Fusion, a news, pop culture and satire TV and digital network. Headquartered in New York City, UCI has television network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States. For more information, please visit Univision.net.

Contacts

Univision
Monica Talan, 212-455-5331
mtalan@univision.net
or
Next Generation
Anastasia Ordonez, 510-590-8471
Media@thenextgeneration.org
or
Clinton Foundation
Nick Merrill, 212-348-0360
press@clintonfoundation.org

Release Summary

Hillary Clinton and Univision Communications Inc. President/CEO Randy Falco launch a partnership between Univision and Too Small to Fail, a joint initiative of Next Generation and Clinton Foundation.

Contacts

Univision
Monica Talan, 212-455-5331
mtalan@univision.net
or
Next Generation
Anastasia Ordonez, 510-590-8471
Media@thenextgeneration.org
or
Clinton Foundation
Nick Merrill, 212-348-0360
press@clintonfoundation.org