HARRISBURG — Governor Tom Wolf has proclaimed May 23 as “1-4-3 Day” in Pennsylvania in honor of Fred Rogers’ favorite number and has issued a challenge to all Pennsylvanians to show neighbors more kindness to one another.
“I am proclaiming the 143rd day of the year as ‘1-4-3 Day’ to encourage acts of kindness and honor Fred Rogers, who served as an inspiration to millions of Pennsylvanians and people around the world,” Wolf said in a press release. “We know Pennsylvanians are grateful for and do good deeds for their neighbors every day. It’s one aspect that makes our commonwealth such a great place to live, work and to visit. 1-4-3 Day is a recognition and celebration of those collective efforts, and we hope it inspires even more acts of kindness.”
Rogers, a Pennsylvania native best known as Mister Rogers, regularly used 1-4-3 as a way of saying I-Love-You throughout his life and on his beloved television series, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
His reference was to the number of letters in each word: 1-4-3. May 23 is the 143rd day of the year.
The state’s website will be home to a “Kindness Generator” at pa.gov/143-day, to provide inspiration for the day, and a “Kindness Tracker” will tally good deeds and kind gestures Pennsylvanians do throughout the day. Residents are also urged to use #143DayInPA on social media to share and help spread the movement.
“A good deed could be as simple as holding a door open for a few extra people, bringing an extra cup of coffee for a co-worker, or offering your seat on the train,” said Carrie Fisher Lepore, Deputy Secretary, Office of Marketing, Tourism, and Film for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. “1-4-3 Day is taking time to share some extra gratitude for the people in our lives and celebrate the little things we do for one another every day.”
