Despite an unusually snowy winter season, VPM was out serving our communities throughout February 2025. From events to speaking engagements and educational opportunities for children and their families, VPM continues to exemplify its mission of using the power of media to educate, entertain and inspire.
Below are some highlights of how VPM served our communities over the last month.
Events
On Feb. 13, a sold-out crowd welcomed NPR’s popular show Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me! to the Altria Theater for a live event hosted by VPM. Check out a slide show of photos for a special look inside the event! You can listen to the full episode recorded in Richmond here.
A few days later, VPM hosted an Education Forum moderated by the Honorable Anne B. Holton, professor of education at George Mason University, at its Sesame St. studios. The forum focused on opportunity gaps facing Virginia’s pre-K–12 students, teacher recruitment and retention challenges, as well as innovative approaches by local school systems to address these issues. Guest panelists included: Madison Irving, Dr. Shadae Harris and Kim Bridges.
Speaking Engagements
On Feb. 14, VPM news director Elliott Robinson was a part of the Public Media Careers Panel at UVA. The panelists discussed their career paths, media careers in general, what’s needed to get into journalism and how students can learn and prepare themselves for this kind of work.
Early Childhood Education
This month, VPM announced a partnership with the Robins Foundation and Thrive Birth to Five to launch a new initiative that stresses the importance and value of a child’s earliest days of learning for overall family wellbeing. The messaging campaign, called 90by5, stems from the fact that 90% of a child’s brain develops by the age of 5 and the goal is to develop key messaging around how the smallest interactions can influence future learning.
On Feb. 21, VPM hosted a screening of PBS KIDS show Carl the Collector at The Children's Muesum in Chesterfield. The event was well-attended by children and their families despite the snowy weather!
Looking to learn more about VPM’s impact in our communities? Visit the VPM Impact Page.
