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Barnes & Noble Book Fair
Author and Advisory Board member T. Stephens, Advisory Board member Liz Brown and volunteer Ksenia Vayner
Reach Out and Read kicked off a book fair and local author event at Barnes & Noble at the Shoppes in Farmington Valley in Canton on April 25. Authors Janice Petrie, Stacy Dekeseyer, Jessica Robinson and T. Stephens (who is also a Reach Out and Read Connecticut Advisory Board member), were on hand to meet fans, sign books and answer questions. We met lots of new people at the book fair, introducing them to the important work that we do at Reach Out and Read. A percentage of sales from the day went to support Reach Out and Read's programs in Connecticut.
Panera Bread also joined in on the fun by donating $1.00 for every "You Pick TwoŽ" item purchased that day at their Canton store. The promotion raised over $800 for Reach Out and Read and raised awareness surrounding early literacy.
Thank you to Barnes & Noble, Panera Bread, the authors, volunteers and all who came out to support us!
Reach Out and Read will be at the Barnes & Noble store in Farmington on Saturday, August 29 and at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills on Saturday, December 12. Authors Tish Rabe, T. Stephens and Jeanne Rollins will be there too so come out to meet them! Panera Bread will be partnering with us on those days too! |
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When you shop AmazonSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. It is the same Amazon you know. Same products, prices and service. Shop AmazonSmile and choose Reach Out and Read by typing it in the search box.
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Reach Out and Read Featured in Connecticut Family Magazine
We were honored to be featured in the Spring 2015 issue of Connecticut Family Magazine! The article, "Books Build Better Brains," highlights interviews with Dr. Cathy Wiley, Connecticut Medical Director for Reach Out and Read, Dr. Cynthia Roque, Reach Out and Read medical provider and Connecticut Advisory Board member, and Christine Garber, Connecticut Executive Director. The article focuses on the amazing job our providers do educating parents on the importance of reading to their children, how they do it and how you can help. Click here to read the full article.
Connecticut Advisory Board member and Dr. Seuss author, Tish Rabe, was also featured in the Spring 2015 issue of Connecticut Family Magazine. In the article here, read about Tish's amazing career, including her work at Sesame Street, with Dr. Seuss where she has written 18 books for The Cat in The Hat's Early Learning Library, and her passion for helping young children learn to read.
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Lisa Saunders Interviews Tish Rabe
If you are a Dr. Seuss fan, you won't want to miss this!
Tish Rabe, best-selling children's book author and Reach Out and Read Connecticut Advisory Board member, sat down to talk with Lisa Saunders. Watch Tish talk about her Dr. Seuss science books, her Love You, Hug You, Read to You book written just for Reach Out and Read Connecticut that has been picked up by Penguin Random House, as well as the songs she has written. You even get to hear her sing! Click here to see the interview.
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Thank You for the Support!
Reach Out and Read is so very grateful to the numerous foundations that support our work. In the last quarter, we received our first Connecticut grant from the Stocker Foundation for $25,000. The Stocker Foundation has funded Reach Out and Read before but this is the first time they have provided funding to our Connecticut programs, specifically Hartford County.
Thank you also to BJ's Charitable Foundation for their $10,000 grant and to People's United Community Foundation for their $4,000 grant. We would also like to thank Harvard Pilgrim Health Care for their first time grant of $500.
Additionally, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, who has provided support for our work in the past, featured us in a recent article, "Books and Pediatricians: A Healthy Pair." We are thankful for this publicity and support from the Foundation.
See a full list of our funders and partners on our website here. |
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Announcing the New
Reach Out and Read Blog
Keep up to date with news from Reach Out and Read by subscribing to our new blog that was launched in May.
We have posts about creating fond memories of reading together, reading as a part of healthy childhood development, the delivery of half a million books donated by Scholastic, our collaboration with Save the Children, what books mean for Reach Out and Read and more!
Sign up now!
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Watch Reach Out and
Read in Action
Reach Out and Read Southern California created two new videos spotlighting Reach Out and Read. Watch Baby Sage and Reach Out and Read. They are using these videos as part of the waiting room programming in their medical center and medical office building waiting rooms.
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Volunteer Opportunities
at Reach Out and Read
Are you, or is someone you know, looking for a meaningful internship (unpaid), or volunteer work? We have plenty of opportunities here at Reach Out and Read Connecticut. Some of our current opportunities are Communications Volunteer, Fundraising Volunteer, Grant Writer, Books for Kids Volunteer, General Volunteer, Clifford the Big Red Dog Mascot, and Advisory Board member.
All current opportunities and more information can be found on VolunteerMatch.org or by contacting our Volunteer Coordinator, Amanda Gryzkewicz at CTcommunications@reachoutandread.org
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Stay Connected!
Reach Out and Read Connecticut is now on Instagram. Follow us @reachoutandtreadct! You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter!
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Reach Out and Read Connecticut Summer 2015 Newsletter
Serving 39,760 Connecticut Children
in 74 Clinical Locations
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Executive Director's Note
Dear Reach Out and Read colleagues and supporters,
As you know, traditionally, the first official Reach Out and Read visit came at 6 months of age when the child is ready to sit in a parent's lap and begin to reach and hold, grab and move the board book. However, recognizing that language development begins at birth, we believe that reading to children should begin then also. In order to capitalize on the first critical 6 months of life, we have adapted our program to include the newborn visits starting before 6 months of age; 2-3 days, 1, 2 and 4 months. Our medical providers will begin delivering our anticipatory guidance at these earlier visits and continuing through age 5.
To support our expansion to a newborn through 5 year program, our National Center is updating program materials, including Developmental Milestones, and revising our training. For now, we are recommending that all medical providers start conversations about reading, talking, singing and playing with babies at the 2-3 day visit. Although the first book will still be given out at the 6 month visit, once funding allows, we will introduce the book at the earlier visits.
As you can imagine, we are thrilled to be able to offer our program to newborns. We feel this change better aligns us with the policy statement released in June, 2014 from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Literacy Promotion: An Essential Component of Primary Care Pediatric Practice, and with all of the research on early brain development. Click here to read more information on Reach Out and Read as a newborn to 5-years program.
Thank you all for your commitment and support of Reach Out and Read and the children and families we serve. Have a wonderful summer.
Kind regards,
Chris
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Early Childhood Advocacy Day
Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman and Clifford the Big Red Dog
Thanks to the wonderful work of the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance, we participated in another successful Early Childhood Advocacy Day! On Wednesday, April 15, Reach Out and Read, along with many other early childhood advocates, spent the day speaking with legislators on behalf of Connecticut's youngest children. We had the pleasure of meeting with the Lt. Governor, Nancy Wyman, to discuss our work and the state funding bill introduced during the session to support Reach Out and Read. Thank you to Liz Brown, Connecticut Advisory Board member, for securing the meeting with the Lt. Governor and to Dr. Cathy Wiley and Dr. Cynthia Roque for joining us for the meeting.
The day was extra exciting as we brought along Clifford the Big Red Dog. Young and old were excited to see the Big Red Dog walking the halls of the Capitol. See photos from the day on our website and watch Clifford at the Capitol!
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State Representative Matthew Lesser Visits Reach Out and Read in Middletown!
Dr. April Diep, children from Town and Country Early Learning Center and State Representative Matthew Lesser
It's always an honor to have legislators visit our Reach Out and Read programs. On May 21, State Matthew Lesser (D-Middletown) visited Middlesex Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program to support Reach Out and Read. He read to a group of young students from the Town and Country Early Learning Center in Middletown, CT.
Representative Lesser read "Five Little Monkeys" and then at the request of, and to the delight of his audience, he read "Book! Book! Book!" After reading to the children, Representative Lesser was taken on a tour of the program where Family Medicine Resident April Diep, MD explained how they use books as a developmental surveillance tool in the exam room. Representative Lesser remarked that he is "so happy to have this program running in Middletown" and he is "happy to support Reach Out and Read." Thank you Representative Lesser!
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Reach Out and Read Programs
Connecting with Local Libraries
With funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Reach Out and Read's new Prescription for Success initiative, is working towards deepening relationships between Reach Out and Read programs and their local libraries and museums.
Dr. Renee Casey at Optimus Health Care, Main Street Pediatrics, is enriching her Reach Out and Read program by connecting with the local library in Bridgeport. Dr. Casey has met with Nancy Sweeney from the Bridgeport Public Library twice, once at the office and once at the Broad Street Library, where she was able to meet some new people and purchase some gently used books for her Reach Out and Read program at the weekly "Friends of the Bridgeport Library" book sale. Dr. Casey and Nancy Sweeney are hoping to have an information session at Main Street Pediatrics to get parents signed up for library cards and to learn all about the services the library offers. The Friends of the Bridgeport Public Library Bookmobile may also pay a visit to the parking lot and run a book sale for patients as well! Thank you Dr. Casey and Nancy Sweeney for all of your work on creating this partnership! Great job!
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Nicholas Kristof - Beyond Education Wars
In Nicholas Kristof's column in the New York Times on April 23 - Beyond Education Wars - he once again speaks to the value of the early childhood years. Kristof suggests that it's time to focus on early childhood when interventions are most cost-effective for at-risk kids. "Growing evidence suggests what does work to break the poverty cycle: Start early in life, and coach parents to stimulate their children," writes Kristof, and gives Reach Out and Read as an example of an organization doing this effectively.
Kristof suggests that we "Refocus some reformist passions on early childhood" because early childhood is a crucial period when the brain is most malleable, because fixing K-12 education "will be a long slog, so let's direct some energy to children aged 0 - 5" and because "early education is where we have the greatest chance of success because it's not politically polarized."
Enjoy the full article here.
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Reach Out and Read Announces
New Board Members
The Reach Out and Read National Board of Directors is very pleased to welcome two new board members, Dipesh Navsaria, MD and Susan Hildreth, who both bring their extraordinary talent and vision to the organization. Dipesh and Susan are both strong Reach Out and Read advocates, and are characterized by their ability to think across boundaries, using their respective specialties in pediatric medicine and librarianship to influence the field of early childhood literacy. For more information on our new board members, please click here.
The National Board of Directors has also welcomed a new Chair, Dr. Thomas G. DeWitt. Dr. DeWitt has served on Reach Out and Read's Board for 6 years and has been serving as co-chair since earlier this spring.
Click here to learn more about Reach Out and Read's National Board of Directors.
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