Like us on Facebook!
Reach Out and Read Connecticut has a new Facebook page! Click HERE to check it out.
Stay up-to-date on the work we are doing throughout the state. Feel free to contact Christine Garber if you would like to post any of your Reach Out and Read events or activities on the site.
We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your support!
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Congratulations Target Grant Recipients
Fairhaven Community Health Center
Middlesesx Hospital Family Medicine
New Britain Pediatrics
Thank you to Target for their generous support of Reach Out and Read!
Contact Sherry Brohel or Christine Garber if your program received a grant.
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Reach Out and
Read Connecticut Hits the Airwaves
On Tuesday, July 16, Reach Out and Read's Christine Garber and Eileen Crutchlow from Optimus Health Care in Bridgeport were guests on WICC's Coffee Break Chat.
The focus of the interview was on provider's view of Reach Out & Read and the impact it has on children and their families.
To listen to the full interview, click HERE.
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IN THE NEWS
Reach Out and Read mentioned in the September 7th
edition of
"In a remarkable program, reach Out and Read, 12,000 doctors, nurses and other providers have volunteered to include instruction on the importance of reading to low-income mothers during pediatric checkups."
Click HERE to read this entire Op-Ed piece entitled: The Great Stagnation of American Education
By Robert J. Gordon
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Grant Opportunities from Wal-Mart
Our colleagues in other states report that they have had good luck applying for book-funding help through their local Wal-Mart's Local Giving Program Grants.
Choose the Facility Giving Option HERE and let us know how you do...or contact your coordinator for help.
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Please help make a difference in a child's life. Donate here.
Thank you!
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Help Promote the Importance of Good Attendance in Preschool and Kindergarten
Good attendance habits begin in pre-school. Research and common sense tell us that children don't learn if they don't attend school regularly. But how many days are too many days to miss?
As the new school year approaches, help your families understand the importance of daily kindergarten and pre-K attendance so that all children develop a lifelong habit of showing up on time, ready to participate and learn. To help you discuss this topic, Reach Out and Read and Attendance Works created this
handout for providers and families. Thank you for distributing!
Back to School Waiting Rooms!
Get your waiting room ready to promote back to school awareness. Print out read-aloud tips, milestones of early literacy development charts, stock up on used books, post the story hours at the local library, display the Attendance Works flier and photos of your doctors holding up their favorite Reach Out and Read book!
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Reach Out and Read New England
Connecticut Newsletter
Fall 2013
Serving 39,939 Connecticut Children
in 69 Clinical Locations
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Dear Reach Out and Read Colleagues:
Our Connecticut Reach Out and Read team is growing! Please join us in welcoming Kerry McMahon to our Reach Out and Read Connecticut family!
Kerry joined our team on September 23 as our new part-time Fairfield County Program Coordinator. As a resident of Fairfield County, Kerry will be close by to visit and support our Fairfield County programs. Kerry brings with her over 15 years of experience in customer service, relationship building, and problem solving. She is highly organized, efficient, motivated, and has tremendous communication skills. Kerry is a wife and mother of three who have kept her active in school and community activities.
Over the next few months we will be transitioning all of our Fairfield County programs over to
Kerry. At that time, Sherry will assume the responsibility for our remaining Connecticut programs. As I will continue to oversee all of our Connecticut programs, my role will expand to include additional marketing and fundraising endeavors to ensure the long term sustainability of Reach Out and Read Connecticut.
With our new advisory board in place and this addition of a part-time Program Coordinator, I feel that we are well positioned to reach new heights for Reach Out and Read in Connecticut. We thank you for your continued support of our program and the thousands of children
and families who we are able to serve thanks to you.
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Rosa DeLauro supports Reach Out and Read with a visit to Middlesex Hospital
"Literacy is not pork, it is not an earmark. It is the mark of a civil society." -Representative Rosa DeLauro
On Tuesday, September 17th, Representative Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) visited Middlesex Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program to support Reach Out and Read. She read to a group of young students from Town and Country Early Learning Center in Middletown Connecticut.
Representative DeLauro's readings included animated renditions of several books including "Five Little Monkeys" and "Book! Book! Book!" To the delight of her audience, Representative DeLauro was both dynamic and engaging. Reach Out and Read Connecticut is grateful for the warmth and humor she brought to this visit. After reading to the children, Dr. O'Callahan lead her on a tour of their facility. Family Medicine Resident April Diep, MD explained how they use books as a developmental surveillance tools in the exam room. Representative De Lauro vowed support of Reach out and Read and early childhood literacy in general, by stating-"Literacy is not pork, it is not an earmark. It is the mark of a civil society." Middlesex Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program began its Reach Out and Read Program in 2006 and is one of ten programs in Representative DeLauro's district that participate in Reach Out and Read, providing books to more than 9,000 children annually.  | |
Tracy Albanese, LPN, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Cliff O'Callahan, MD
and April Diep, MD
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Reach Out and Read Executive Director Anne-Marie Fitzgerald with David M. Rubenstein, the originator and sponsor of The Library of Congress Literacy Awards
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Library of Congress Awards Reach Out and Read Highest Literacy Award
In recognition of its groundbreaking advancement of literacy, Reach Out and Read has won the prestigious new David M. Rubenstein Prize, the top onor among the 2013 Library of Congress Literacy Awards.
The award, which comes with a $150,000 prize, was presented Sunday, September 22, 2013, in Washington, D.C. to Reach Out and Read Executive Director Anne-Marie Fitzgerald. Reach Out and Read was chosen for the prize from a pool of more than 185 applicants, both literacy-related organizations and individuals.
To see the full press release, please click click HERE.
To help support the children and families served by Reach Out and Read, please visit our website or contact Christine Garber, Connecticut Program Director.
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HAVING FUN WITH REACH OUT AND READ
At The Hospital of Central Connecticut, Dr. Leonard promotes Early Childhood literacy everyday by delivering Reach Out and Read to her young patients. Last Halloween, Dr. Leonard dressed as Curious George's best friend "The Man in the Yellow Hat" to the delight of her patients. We urge other Connecticut medical providers to have fun while encouraging your families to read together. Consider having literacy-themed costume days, not just at Halloween, but throughout the year.
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REACH OUT AND READ MICRO-LECTURE SERIES
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Reach Out and Read intermittently offers Micro-lectures on literacy- and language-related topics targeted to provide research, tips, and information immediately usable in Reach Out and Read exam room encounters by Reach Out and Read medical providers.
Below are a couple of the upcoming lectures:
10/17/2013 Analog Kids in the Digital Age Part 2: New Technologies. Old challenges (for Providers) To sign up for the 10am session click HERE, for 12 noon session click HERE
10/22/3013 Choosing the Right Book (for Site Coordinators) To sign up for the 12 noon session click HERE, for the 2pm session click HERE
As always, anyone with any interest in a given topic is welcome to sign up.
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Reach Out and Read Receives 4 Stars
From Charity Navigator
Reach Out and Read was awarded 4 stars from Charity Navigator the highest ranking given by the organization. A letter from Ken Berger, President and CEO of Charity Navigator, remarked, "Out of the thousands of nonprofits Charity Navigator evaluates, only one out of four earns 4 stars - a rating that, now, with our new Accountability and Transparency metrics, demands even greater rigor, responsibility and commitment to openness." To see Reach Out and Read's rating, click HERE.
Charity Navigator is America's largest and most influential charity rater. Their mission is to guide intelligent giving. By guiding intelligent giving, they aim to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace, in which givers and the charities they support work in tandem to overcome our nation's and the world's most persistent challenges. We thank Charity Navigator for their work and for their support of Reach Out and Read.
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