Agency Details:

Cherry Street Health Services-Reach Out And Read

Reach Out and Read is a national, non-profit organization that promotes early literacy by making books a routine part of pediatric primary care. Volunteers read to children in the waiting room, modeling for parents the pleasures and techniques of reading aloud to very young children.

Description:
Reach Out and Read 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 parents about the importance of reading aloud and to give books to children at pediatric check-ups from six months to five 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.

History:
Reach Out and Read started at Boston City Hospital with doctors and nurses bringing books from home to the waiting room so that children could read while waiting for their appointments. When they discovered how quickly the books disappeared, the Reach Out and Read concept was born. Over the past 15 years, Reach Out and Read has spread around the country with more than 2,200 programs established in residency training programs, health centers, clinics, and private practices.

Contact person: Sarah Milazzo, (phone), (email)

Address:

330 Barclay Ave. NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (See a map)

Web Site: None specified

Directions:

Nearest Bus Stop: Route 13

Last updated on September 24, 2009