Reach Out and Read prepares America's youngest children to succeed in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together.
Doctors, nurse practitioners, and other medical professionals incorporate Reach Out and Read's evidence-based model into regular pediatric checkups, by advising parents about the importance of reading aloud and giving developmentally-appropriate books to children. The program begins at the 6-month checkup and continues through age 5, with a special emphasis on children growing up in low-income communities. Families served by Reach Out and Read read together more often, and their children enter kindergarten with larger vocabularies and stronger language skills, better prepared to achieve their potential.
Reach Out and Read Ohio is a collaborative program of the Ohio Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP); the Ohio AAP Foundation; and the Reach Out and Read National Center. The American Academy of Pediatrics endorses ROR as a model for anticipatory guidance from physicians to parents to convey the why and how to share books with children.
Reach Out and Read Ohio, founded in 2001, has grown steadily to nearly 140 sites statewide; in 2010 these sites anticipate serving more than 160,000 children and distributing over 270,000 new, high quality books. Currently, nearly 2,300 medical care providers have been trained in the ROR model of early literacy promotion in Ohio. ROR sites are presently functioning in community health centers, hospitals, residency programs and pediatric clinics throughout the state.
For more information on Reach Out and Read Ohio, please contact: Heather Hall, Coalition Leader, hhall@ohioaap.org or (614) 846-6258.
Reach Out and Read is launching a bold new campaign to give a brand new, age-appropriate book to one million children in need before Labor Day. The Summer of a Million Books campaign unites Reach Out and Read pediatricians and family physicians at 4,500 hospitals and clinics across the country in their mission to prepare America's youngest children to succeed in school.
Reach Out and Read developed the Summer of a Million Books in conjunction with United We Serve's Let's Read. Let's Move. initiative, which aims to promote community service and combat illiteracy and childhood obesity. Reach Out and Read is a national partner of Let's Read. Let's Move., an Administration-wide effort led by President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and the Corporation for National and Community Service.
If it succeeds, the Summer of a Million Books campaign will provide one million families with the tools and guidance they need to prepare their children to succeed in school. In order to accomplish that goal, Reach Out and Read's doctors and nurse practitioners must distribute more than 18,500 books nationally every day between Monday, June 21 (First Day of Summer), and Monday, September 6 (Labor Day).
How can you help?
1. Donate a book or sponsor a child online through the Reach Out and Read Virtual Book Drive.
2. Organize a new book drive for a Reach Out and Read program in your community.
3. Most importantly, read to the children in your life every day.
Individuals and organizations can support Reach Out and Read Ohio through hosting book drives, donating new books, donating money and volunteering to read in waiting rooms at a local Reach Out and Read program. For more information, contact Heather Hall, Coalition Leader, at hhall@ohioaap.org or (614) 846-6258.
To view the press release on the Summer of a Million Books Campaign, click here.