Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf today proclaimed Friday, May 22, the 143rd day of the year, as 1-4-3 Day, a statewide day of kindness in honor of Pennsylvania native Fred Rogers. Fred Rogers, best known from his beloved television series, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, exemplified compassion and regularly used 1-4-3 as another way of saying “I love you,” with 1-4-3 representing the number of letters in each word.
As the state continues to navigate the COVID-19 crisis, Governor Wolf is encouraging all Pennsylvanians to spread even more kindness, more love, and more generosity to essential workers and neighbors on 1-4-3 Day.
“In 2019, Pennsylvanians shared more than 17,000 acts of kindness on social media on 1-4-3 Day,” said Governor Wolf. “This year, in particular, with all we’re going through as a state and a nation, we have the opportunity to show the positive impact that neighborliness can have during more difficult times by recognizing and thanking essential workers and frontline employees through acts of kindness and appreciation. We hope this day inspires even more generosity, not only on 1-4-3 Day, but all the time, whenever or wherever kindness is needed.”
As many Pennsylvanians prepare to celebrate 1-4-3 Day at home, the state has updated its Kindness Generator to provide extra inspiration. The website will also include a Kindness Tracker, a tally of all the great deeds Pennsylvanians do throughout the day which are counted by using the hashtag #143DayinPA.
“We all need support, compassion and generosity now, more than ever. Whether it’s offering simple words of encouragement and appreciation to essential workers or donating nonperishables to a local food bank, kind gestures can be done anywhere, anytime,” said Carrie Fischer Lepore, Deputy Secretary, Office of Marketing, Tourism, and Film for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. “We have already seen many Pennsylvanians come together and demonstrate what it means to be a good neighbor through this crisis. We hope 1-4-3 Day will be another opportunity to extend kindness and appreciation to teachers, mail carriers, supermarket employees, healthcare workers, and all the unsung heroes of the pandemic.”
