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IN THIS ISSUE
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
CLIENT SNAPSHOT
DONOR SPOTLIGHT
SAVE THE DATE
WHAT WE NEED NOW
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Saskia Epstein

I hope you have enjoyed these last weeks of summer. We are excited for fall and that Room to Grow has, for a second year, been invited to join the Rodman Ride for Kids. We would be thrilled to have you help us ride to victory on behalf of babies born into poverty. I am committed to pedal 50 miles this year and hope you will support me and our team of riders by joining Room to Grow as a rider (25, 50 or 100-miles,) virtual rider or sponsor. The Rodman Ride for Kids is a non-competitive bike ride through southeastern Massachusetts on Saturday, September 24. Led by Don Rodman, the Ride is an umbrella matching gift charity raising funds for youth-focused social service agencies that support at-risk children in Massachusetts. If we reach our goal of raising $35,000 or more, Rodman organizers will match 10%, so 110% of every donation made on our behalf will benefit Room to Grow. It is a simple and fun way for Room to Grow to raise critical funds, but we need your help! Click here for more information and to support Room to Grow's cycling team.

Best regards,

 

Saskia Epstein

Executive Director

 

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 CLIENT SNAPSHOT: Encouraging early learning
Spanish Books Delores came to Room to Grow pregnant with her third child, craving support to manage her expanding family, and in need of resources to help nourish her children's growing bodies and minds. Delores was born and raised in El Salvador and speaks no English. She comes to every Room to Grow visit with a Spanish-speaking case manager from Comadres, a locally run program. Eager for her children to succeed in school, Delores was afraid her lack of English would affect her children's learning in Boston Public Schools. Room to Grow social worker Rebecca encouraged Delores to read to her newborn son Julian from the very beginning. Rebecca also quickly noticed Julian's 5-year-old sister Monica was simultaneously learning to read. She suggested that mom select bilingual books to make daily reading a time for the family to share stories and learn from each other in both Spanish and English, which everyone in the family embraced.  Research shows a typical middle-class child enters first grade with 1,000 to 1,700 hours of one-on-one picture book reading, but children raised in low-income families enter school with only 25 hours of comparable reading. Room to Grow provides books, knowledge and support to parents such as Delores to ensure their children get the best possible chance for school success.
DONOR SPOTLIGHT: Scholastic
Schloastic Donation In response to our summer reading campaign, Scholastic donated a tremendous gift of 5,000 books in both English and Spanish to Room to Grow in Boston. This incredible contribution is helping us provide 10 books to each child at every visit, building a home library of 130 books during their three years in the program. In the coming year, Room to Grow will distribute over 12,000 books to families in Boston. We depend on individual and corporate in-kind donations, like the one from Scholastic, to help parents nurture their child with early exposure to books and to create a strong foundation for school success. Scholastic's company motto is "Read Every Day. Lead a Better Life." We couldn't agree more, which is why Room to Grow social workers talk with parents about the importance of reading and model ways to incorporate books into their babies' daily routine. For more information about our program and statistics about how poverty affects literacy, click here.

Special thanks also to Andrews McMeel Publishing, Candlewick Press, Kidsbooks, Lerner Books, and our  community of supporters for their generous donations of books during our summer 2011 reading campaign.
RECENT HAPPENINGS

Boston Parents Paper Best Issue

Summer | 2011

Room to Grow named Family Advocate of the Year   

We are honored to have been recognized by The Boston Parents Paper. Room to Grow was named Family Advocate of the Year for our commitment to serving low-income parents raising babies in their critical first three years of life. Read more. 

 

Summer | 2011

Boston Advisory Board welcomes new leaders 

The Room to Grow Boston Advisory Board enthusiastically welcomed new members James AthanasoulasExecutive Vice President, Sankaty Advisors, LLC,  Ennio Carboni, President, Network Management Division, Ipswitch, Lou Casagrande, Jim DuCharme, Chief Financial Officer, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Sarah D. Greenhill, Brooke McNallyVice President, VOX Global and Tom Reith, Partner, Burns & Levinson. We are grateful for the leadership and support they will provide Room to Grow as community ambassadors and strategic advisors.

 
SAVE THE DATE

Fall Gala 2011

September 24 | 2011

Rodman Ride for Kids 

Join our team as a sponsor or cycle 25, 50 or 100 miles.  

 

November 5 | 2011

Room to Grow Fall Gala

Boston Public Library 

A festive night to benefit babies born into poverty and to honor T. Berry Brazelton, MD, Professor of Pediatrics Emeritus at Harvard Medical School, and one of the world's foremost authorities on pediatrics and child development. For more information email [email protected].  

WHAT WE NEED NOW

Donate Baby Items Room to Grow has a new urgent needs list on www.roomtogrow.org. Click here for our full list of current needs, including infant toys, baby bottles and safety supplies.