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Welcoming Our Newest Program Sites
Belchertown Medical Center,
Belchertown
Carney Hospital Family Practice,
Dorchester
Hampden County Physicians Associates, Springfield
Malden Family Health Center,
Malden
Metheun Family Health Center,
Metheun
Riverbend Medical Group,
Westfield | | |
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Harvest Moon Artists & Authors Fair To Benefit Reach Out and Read
Sunday October 13th
10 am to 3 pm
Foxboro V
337 Cocasset St. Foxboro
Great raffle prizes and book donations will support Reach Out & Read! Bring a gently-used book and receive 4 free raffle tickets for a signed copy of Dennis Lehane's latest!
The fair features approximately 30 displays of quality handcrafts by local artisans, as well as local authors Nancy Castle, author of the Loogie the Booger Genie series, and Genie Lee Perron, whose book, Things I Wish My Mother Had Said, is a 5-star reviewed book on Amazon Books!
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Early Bird Registration Opens for
Saturday November 16
New Bedford
The conference, which
focuses on the building blocks of early literacy, is designed for
early childhood educators, family childcare providers, and parents.
EEC Professional Development Hours Available
Light Breakfast and Lunch Included
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JCAHO and Waiting Room Books
As we travel around the state, Regional Coordinators enjoy the variety of literacy-rich waiting rooms created by participating practices; several have been highlighted in past issues of the newsletter. One of the core elements of Reach Out and Read, the literacy-rich waiting room includes library information, ESL information, literacy-themed posters and, most importantly, gently-used books for children of all ages to read and take home.
Occasionally a practice will be reluctant to place gently-used books in the waiting room out of concern that it be found in violation of JCAHO regulations; however, communication from JCAHO to Reach Out and Read in 2007 implies that children's books in primary care waiting rooms are not a particular focus. If your practice has concerns about these regulations, or has had recent communication from JCAHO expressing a different policy, please get in touch with your Regional Coordinator and we will try to help you resolve the matter.
Here are links to the communications from JCAHO and to a waiting room contamination study. |
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click here to see our new website
click here to see our Facebook page
Reach Out and Read New England
Massachusetts Newsletter
Serving 200,505 Massachusetts children
in 278 clinical locations
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Dear Reach Out and Read Colleagues,
My thoughts this fall are about fundraising. As I visited Reach Out and Read locations over the summer, I sometimes recalled the nursery rhyme: "...and when she got there, the cupboard was bare...." Many sites have bare bookshelves, which means that children accustomed to getting a new book at their well-child visit "have none".
At the same time, we know we have a model that works. Last week, Reach Out and Read was awarded the first David M. Rubenstein Prize from the Library of Congress. This prize, the Library's highest honor, recognizes Reach Out and Read and its "unique approach to advancing literacy by integrating books and reading aloud advice into the standard practice of pediatric care." (See the full story below.)
Over almost twenty-five years, and through the ebb and flow of funding, Reach Out and Read's model has remained consistent. We know that Reach Out and Read families are four times more likely to read aloud to their children, and that those children enter kindergarten better prepared to succeed in school, with larger vocabularies and stronger language skills.
We know that Reach Out and Read is helping children on a path to success. But we need to ensure that the program is delivered consistently, and that means more funds for books.
You will hear more from us about fundraising this year, and to start off we have featured a few fundraising success stories, highlighting the different types of support--individual, corporate, and philanthropic--that benefit our program sites. Look for stories about Alex Ricciardelli; the Reliant Medical Group Foundation; Fox/PaperStore ZipTrips; and the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation. These are just a few examples of some individuals and medical systems that are going the extra mile to help "bridge the gap" so that all sites have all the books they need.
Help us think outside the box about fundraising. Share your successes with us and we will spread your great ideas throughout Reach Out and Read Massachusetts.
Heather Robinson
Central MA Regional Coordinator
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Worcester Public Library Initiates
One City, One Library
Partnership
In Worcester, fewer than half of third-graders read proficiently. Six of the 34 elementary schools do not have functioning libraries, and many others are staffed only intermittently. In an effort to increase literacy in the elementary grades, the city is about to embark on an unprecedented collaboration between the Worcester Public Library and the Worcester Public Schools. The project, One City, One Library, will pilot children's branch libraries in four elementary schools across the city.
These libraries will
* Give students and teachers access to current library materials and library services, such as literacy programming during the school year;
* Give the community access to neighborhood-based library services when school is not in session and in the summer months;
* Provide access to new computers, including early literacy stations, iPads, e-readers, and other digital media, and connect these branch libraries to the public library's world-wide, electronic inventory system;
* Enhance the school's curriculum with supportive library offerings; and
* Serve as centers for family literacy activities.
Reach Out and Read has 13 clinical locations in Worcester, providing over 15,000 well-child visits in a year. One City, One Library is a welcome reinforcement to the early literacy message, ensuring that when children arrive at school ready to learn to read, there will be books there ready for them! |
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Community Health Centers Saluted
Reach Out and Read Massachusetts is proud to count all community health centers in the Commonwealth among our participating practices! In honor of National Health Center Week (August 11-17), community health centers participated in various events and celebrations.
 Visibility Canvassing at the Lowell Community Health Center
 Vivien Morris is the Founder of Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition
Mattapan Community Health Center partners with the Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition (MFFC) to promote healthy eating and increase access to fresh fruits and vegetable in the community. Mattapan Square Farmer's Market was held in front of the health center during National Health Center Week. The produce is from the Brookwood Community Farm in Canton (locally grown about 20 minutes from the health center) and is sold by local MFFC teenagers, some whom have worked on the farm. |
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Microlecture Calendar
Don't miss the upcoming October micro-lecture continuing Dr. John S. Hutton's series of talks on Raising Analog Kids in the Digital Age. See the full schedule below!
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Fundraising Success Stories!
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Kids Helping Kids
Thank you's to...
Kylie Silver of Longmeadow, who collected hundreds of books for our Reach Out and Read sites in Springfield. Kylie is shown at left, delivering books to Loi Solan at Baystate's Mason Square Health Center.
Susan MacLeod and family of Natick. Instead of birthday gifts for her son's seventh birthday, they collected books that he then donated to MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham.
Henry Shakman and his mom Karen of Cambridge, who asked for books to give to Reach Out and Read at Harry's 7th birthday party. A great way to instill the notion of giving right from the start!
And to
The Watertown DAR and Mary Smith (formerly a Lexington neighbor of our own Carole Ferguson) for culling, purchasing, and delivering over 525 books, new and used. What a gift! They started going out to grateful clinics on the same day.
Jean Greco and the Boston Parents Paper for their generous donation of books to the Manet Community Health Center in Quincy. |
 Volunteer Spotlight Alex Ricciardelli honored by Daily Points of Light Foundation On August 12th, Alex Ricciardelli was honored as a "Point of Light" by the Daily Points of Light Foundation. Alex loves to read, and has been sharing his passion with patients at Lynn Community Health Center as a weekly volunteer reader in the waiting room for the last year and a half. A student at St John's Preparatory School in Danvers, Alex has also collected book donations from friends and recruited other volunteers to join him in the waiting room. | |
Alex had noticed that some children were difficult to engage in the waiting room and thought that if he read them a book that he had written, they might be more interested. So he wrote and self-published "A Small Tale: The Adventures of Melvin" to inspire children and to raise money specifically for the Reach Out and Read Program at the Lynn Community Health Center!
Proceeds from sales will be donated to the health center's Reach Out and Read program, with the goal of raising $9,000 and reaching 1000 children. "A Small Tale" is available on Amazon.com for $9, or you can support this project at Alex's "GoFundMe" website, where he has already raised $6000!
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Davis Foundation Grant Funds Springfield Program Sites
 The Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation
"Reach Out and Read Massachusetts is a proud partner in Springfield's Reading Success by Fourth Grade. This grant marks an important milestone in our efforts to ensure that Springfield's children enter school ready to read and to learn. By bolstering our supply of new books, the Foundation ensures that our program will be delivered consistently to the City's children. Through such collaboration, Springfield's children have a real shot at achieving their potential. Many, many thanks to the Davis Foundation for their continued and generous support," said Laurie Flynn, Reach Out and Read's Western Massachusetts Regional Coordinator. | | |
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Reliant Medical Group Foundation
 With nine Reach Out and Read locations in seven cities, Reliant Medical Group distributes over 20,000 books a year. Its charitable arm, the Reliant Medical Group Foundation, is a public charity established in 1988 to promote health in Central Massachusetts and has been a longtime supporter of Reach Out and Read.
Kelsa Zereski, Executive Director of the Foundation, says they make it easy for employees to donate to Reach Out and Read by presenting it as one of four options on the donation form. The Fund is supported largely by these donations, which come in throughout the year from Reliant employees, friends, generous community members and corporate donors.
Funds are distributed annually to Reliant sites and are used to "bridge the gap" between Reach Out and Read sustainability and the clinics book needs, or to create cozy reading areas in waiting rooms.
Many thanks to Kelsa Zereski and The Reliant Foundation for their continued and generous support of Reliant Reach Out and Read sites. | |
FOX25 and The Paper Store Zip Trip
FOX25 Morning News and The Paper Store again generously collected new children's books for Reach Out and Read during their annual summer Zip Trips. Every Friday, the Fox25 Morning News team broadcast live from a different community in the region. Residents,
 neighbors, and kids of all ages attended the broadcast and brought a new, "Doctor-Recommended" book to donate to Reach Out and Read. We are so grateful to be a part of this incredibly successful book drive! 
Heather Robinson, Central Massachusetts Regional Coordinator for Reach Out and Read attended the Zip Trip in Boxford on August 23rd with Craig Hewitt, Director of Operations for The Paper Store.
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REACH OUT AND READ MASSACHUSETTS CONTACT INFORMATION
56 Roland Street, Suite 100D,
Boston, MA 02129-1243
Phone: 617.455.0636 Fax:617.455.0601
Alison Corning Clarke, MA, MSW - Massachusetts Program Director alison.clarke@reachoutandread.org
Carole Ferguson, PNP - Boston Area Coordinator carole.ferguson@reachoutandread.org
Laurie Flynn, MA - Western MA Regional Coordinator laurie.flynn@reachoutandread.org
Heather Robinson, MPH - Central MA Regional Coordinator heather.robinson@reachoutandread.org
Marilyn Augustyn MD - Massachusetts Medical Director marilyn.augustyn@reachoutandread.org | |
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