What is Reach Out and Read?
Reach Out and Read (ROR) is a national pediatric early literacy program. The mission of Reach Out and Read is to make 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 parents about the importance of reading aloud and to give new books to children at pediatric well visits (check-ups) from 6 months to 5 years of age, with a special focus 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.
The Reach Out and Read Model
- In the exam room at a ROR site, the pediatrician or nurse practitioner encourages parents to read aloud to their young children and offers age-appropriate tips.
- At well-child visits (check-ups), the pediatrician or nurse practitioner gives every child 6 months to 5 years of age a new, developmentally and culturally appropriate children’s book to take home and keep.
- In the waiting room, displays, information and gently used books create a literacy rich environment. Where possible, volunteer readers engage the children with books, modeling for the parents the pleasures-and techniques-of reading aloud.
ROR at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Reach Out and Read program occurs at these Pediatric & Adolescent Care practices: University City, South Philadelphia, Cobbs Creek, Market Street, Salem Road, NJ, as well as the Family Care Center in Philadelphia.
Every year, the pediatricians, residents and nurse practitioners at Childrens Hospital's Reach Out and Read sites reach nearly 20,000 children, ages 6 months to 5 years, and their families.
The Importance of Books and Reading Aloud
The 1985 National Commission on Reading reported that the single most important predictor of a child's later reading success is being read to early in life. Reading aloud to babies and young children enhances language and cognitive development and helps them learn.
How to Help
Reach Out and Read at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia relies solely on donations and support from schools, community groups, foundations, corporations and individuals to maintain this valuable program.
Here’s how you can help support Reach Out and Read at Children’s Hospital:
Contribute to the Reach Out and Read Endowment
Through the generosity of a family whose commitment to this Reach Out and Read program spans five years, we have been able to establish a permanent endowment for the Reach Out and Read program at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Fostering literacy and a love of reading opens countless avenues for success and lifelong joys for children. One of the most meaningful, and lasting, ways to support ROR is through giving to the program's endowment.
An endowment is a permanent investment that grows over time while providing steady annual funding to continue and expand initiatives. Program growth is sustained by using a portion of the fund's net value each year, while leaving the fund's balance intact. Just as reading is a gift that keeps on giving, donations to the endowment provide perpetual support for ROR's efforts to improve the way children live and grow. For more information, please call the Development Department at 267-426-6500 or visit the Foundation's Web site at www.giftofchildhood.com.
Fundraisers
Have a fundraiser to collect money so the ROR coordinator can purchase wonderful new books for children ages 6 months to 5 years at a 60 percent discount. It costs about $30 to provide new books for a child in this program, through each of the child’s ten well visits from 6 months to 5 years of age. Donors in the past have had success encouraging families, community groups or individuals to sponsor a child by donating ROR costs for a child. Please call the ROR coordinator at 215-590-5989 for more information.
If you plan to have an event to raise money for Children’s Hospital’s ROR program, please call 267-426-6500 and ask the Development Department to mail an application to you.
Book Drives
This is a great way for individuals, groups and children to involve themselves in helping others, and book drives are fun to do. Collecting appropriate new and gently used books for ROR sites allows health care staff to place books directly in hands of many children at the doctor’s offices. Donations of appropriate gently used books for children ages birth to around 12 years are accepted, however, books need to be in good condition (covers and pages intact, clean, and readable). Please call the ROR coordinator at 215-590-5989 for donation and delivery guidelines and recommended titles.
ROR Volunteers
ROR volunteers are based in the doctor’s office waiting room and read aloud to children of all ages. ROR volunteers show parents the techniques and pleasures of looking at books together. Please call The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Volunteer Services Department at 215-590-1093 to request a volunteer application.
For more information, please see How to Support Reach Out and Read and Reach Out and Read Volunteer Opportunities.
These ideas have been successful in the past to support Children’s Hospital’s ROR sites, however we welcome your ideas and suggestions, too. If you are interested in sponsoring a fundraiser or book drive or have comments or questions, please contact the ROR coordinator at 215-590-5989 for additional information. Thank you for your interest and support!
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- 215-590-1000
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