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The 2007-2008 literacy focus is:
   
Reach Out and Read
 

Mission Statement:
      Reach Out and Read (ROR) makes literacy promotion a standard part of pediatric primary care, so that children grow up with books and a love of reading. Reach Out and Read trains doctors and nurses to advise patients about the importance of reading aloud and to give books to children at pediatric checkups from six months to five years, with a special emphasis on children growing up in poverty.
    By building on the unique relationship between parents and medical providers, Reach Out and Read helps families and communities encourage early literacy skills so children enter school prepared for success in reading.

▪  ROR serves 2.8 million children annually.
▪  ROR distributes over 4.6 million books each year.
▪  To date, over 46,571 pediatricians, nurses, residents and health professionals have been trained in the ROR model of early-literacy promotion.
▪   Reach Out and Read is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
▪   There are over 3,289 ROR programs based on the ROR model at clinics, hospitals, and health centers in all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.


More Information about Reach Out and Read:
   
    "Reach Out and Read (ROR) is the success story of a public-private partnership which has helped primary care pediatricians practice medicine in a new way. We started Reach Out and Read in 1989 at Boston City Hospital (now Boston Medical Center), because we knew how much children loved being read to and how important reading was to their early literacy development. We knew that these experiences, especially those involving everyday interactions with parents, shape the brain architecture that supports the complex learning challenges of school and adult daily life. Many children who ultimately fail in school start out with reading difficulties. When very young children develop in a literacy-deprived home environment, their innate interest in learning and their natural curiosity are seriously compromised, placing these youngsters at a severe disadvantage. For example, early language skills, the foundation for later reading ability, are based primarily on language exposure. Research shows that children from low-income families hear and learn far fewer words than children from middle-income families and are at greater social and educational risk due to their limited vocabularies.  Giving parents the information and the tools – beautiful, appealing children’s books – to make reading aloud a daily activity helps parents ensure that their children start school ready to learn and succeed. This is the essence of Reach Out and Read. Research findings show that ROR works. It works because parents are at the center of this effort, and it matches their aspirations for their children to be healthy and to succeed. It works because the advice parents receive comes from a trusted messenger, their child’s physician. ROR works because it takes advantage of each regularly scheduled medical visit from six months to five years, providing parents with both advice and the tool in the form of a free book." - Barry Zuckerman, MD

In The News:
    NBC Nightly News features Reach Out and Read in "What Works" series.
CLICK HERE to read the entire story!

How To Give:
    The impact of your gift will be doubled thanks to the generosity of the Weezie Foundation. A longtime supporter of ROR, the Weezie Foundation has pledged to match your gift dollar for dollar, helping to ensure more books in the hands of children!
    Help ROR put books in the hands of children growing up without them. Here are some ways your gift will make a difference:

▪ $27.50 will provide 10 new books - one for each check-up visit from 6 months to 5 years.
▪ $55.00 will provide the first board book for 20 babies at the 6 month check-up.
▪  $110 will provide books for a young family with 4 children.
▪  $1,000 will provide books for a year to all children at a small rural clinic
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                                                                Click below to:                                                           
                                                       Make a Donation Online
         
                                                            OR

                                                       Make A Donation By Mail:
                                              Download the Contribution Form PDF
                         (Mail back to the address listed at the top of the form.)


           ** IMPORTANT:  All checks should be made payable to Reach Out and Read. 
         Please make a note in the memo section of the check that the donation is on
             behalf of NAIW (International) in order for your Region to receive credit.