One of the largest of over 3,500 Reach Out and Read® Programs in the country! Reach Out and Read® is a pediatric literacy program dedicated to encouraging family literacy activities in the home prior to a child’s entrance into the school system. Reach Out and Read® trains doctors and nurses to advise parents about the importance of reading aloud, focusing on children growing up in poverty.

The Reach Out and Read® Model

• Each time a child between six months and five years old comes in for a routine well-child visit, the pediatrician provides that child with a new age-appropriate book to take home.
• During the exam the pediatrician uses the book to assess the child’s language, motor and cognitive development, discussing with the caregiver developmental anticipatory guidance.
• Volunteer readers engage children in a thematic literacy curriculum made up of activities that meet state kindergarten standards in math, science and language.

43,598 new books were provided by pediatricians 97.7% of children received new books from their pediatrician An average of 3,600 new books are distributed each month More than 100,000 gently-used books were donated by the community 157 Volunteer Readers provided 3,547 hours of volunteer service