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Reach Out and Read programs!
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If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.
--W. Clement Stone
On a daily basis I realize how fortunate I am, and I try to be both mindful and thankful for the blessings in my life. This quote caught my eye because of its action focus. We often try to articulate what we value as people and as organizations, but as any kid can tell you, "it's not what you say, it's what you do."
So we are especially thankful to document and share the collective progress 169 medical practices across the state are making, supporting parents and young children through Reach Out and Read. Serving 100,000 young children and their families is a huge accomplishment, and one to celebrate. At the same time, this growth has been supported by piecing together federal, state, and private funding, and some of the sources we used to rely on are no longer available. There are many times we wonder if it is wise to let the program grow, when we haven't confirmed sustainable sources of support, and when some practices do not have a book to give each child they see. But we know that there are children coming into medical practices every day who will have no books, and whose parents will have no support, without this program. So we partner, and we work together, and we share what we currently have with those who need it most. And so the demand for this work continues!
So in the spirit of gratitude this holiday week, we are thankful for...
- Medical providers who support families with young children across Washington, so we share the amazing scope of their accomplishments
- National attention to "leveling the playing field," so we share Reach Out and Read's role in a recent White House event
- The passion of physicians across the country, so we share the moving story of Dr. Boone on the Today Show
- Corporations like Boeing who support early learning, so we share news of our new grant
- Our ability to provide our families with shelter, food, and good books, and so we share with you the opportunity to support Reach Out and Read on Giving Tuesday
And, finally, we are thankful for our collective opportunity to help our communities, state, and nation "share" so that all children have an equal opportunity, starting from the first days of their lives. We appreciate your support, and ask you to work with us to help state policymakers and others continue to close the opportunity gap by investing in evidence-based early learning strategies, including Reach Out and Read. May your holiday week be filled with blessings.
Jill Sells, MD and the Reach Out and Read Washington Team
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NEARLY 200,000 OPPORTUNITES TO SUPPORT FAMILIES
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Reach Out and Read programs grow tremendously in 2014. Every 6 months Reach Out and Read programs complete a progress report about the services they provided. Each fall we roll up that data into an annual assessment of services, and compare it to previous years. We are delighted by astounding growth in the past year! Collectively 1,415 medical providers in 162 programs supported families during 198,497 well-child checkups for children 6 months through 5 years. This is an increase of more than 35,000 over the previous year! 164,868 books were given to families, up 20,000 books from the previous year.
This growth was accompanied by continued focus on equity, with much of it taking place in community health centers. Of those children served by Reach Out and Read, 69% live in low-income families, 44% are children of color, and 26% speak a primary language other than English. Unfortunately, practices were not able to provide all of the books needed to keep up with this visit growth, and collectively were about 30,000 books short of what was needed. We are working hard to help raise funds for books, and to support practices' ability to meet the increased demand for services. We estimate that over 99,000 children were reached by Reach Out and Read medical providers in FY2014.
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WHITE HOUSE EVENT ON THE WORD GAP
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Reach Out and Read participates in Leveling the Playing Field for All Children: Federal, State, and Local Efforts to Bridge the Word Gap. Reach Out and Read's National Executive Director Brian Gallagher joined nonprofit, philanthropic, and academic leaders at the White House to share best practices and effective interventions to bridge the word gap. Research shows that by age 4, lower-income children have heard 30 million fewer words than their more affluent peers. Read about the event, a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to help parents and teachers address this critical issue.
Brian and Dr. Fan Tait, from the American Academy of Pediatrics, co-presented a breakout session Applying Lessons Learned to Successfully Scale Initiatives and Innovations to Bridge the Word Gap. University of Washington researcher Dr. Pat Kuhl was also featured, as described in The New York Times story Quality of Words, Not Quantity, Is Crucial to Language Skills, Study Finds. A new partnership between Reach Out and Read and (IMLS) will create a "prescription to the library" to help physicians encourage reading and library use, as part of a deeper partnership with libraries and museums. This builds on work Reach Out and Read has done with libraries and museums in Washington State, and elsewhere in the nation.
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TODAY SHOW FEATURES REACH OUT AND READ
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Virginia doctor featured on "Hope To It" special segment. Richmond pediatrician Dr. Boone shares her passion and commitment to children and families through Reach Out and Read. Her compelling personal story from poverty, to medical school, to giving back to her patients is inspiring. Watch Dr. Boone in action.
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THE BOEING COMPANY SUPPORTS PROGRAM QUALITY
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New grant focuses on military, tribal and public health clinics. We are thankful to the Boeing Company for a $55,000 grant to help medical providers implement high quality programs in diverse settings. Military families face unique stressors rarely faced by civilians. Reach Out and Read doctors help parents build routines to reassure children and support families dealing with deployments, separation, and reintegration. Medical providers in 9 military clinics in Washington show parents how reading aloud helps families cope with stress and anxiety, while helping children be ready for kindergarten. Families receiving care through the Indian Health Service or tribal run clinics are often living in remote areas with less access to family supports, and Reach Out and Read has been actively embraced in 16 clinics across the state. Finally, public health clinics in Seattle and King County serve families often struggling to make ends meet, and the system needs our support to be able to implement Reach Out and Read. We thank Boeing for helping Reach Out and Read meet the needs of families across the state.
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PUBLIC EMPLOYEES CAN SUPPORT REACH OUT AND READ
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 Donate through payroll deduction. It's public employee giving campaign season. If you are a county, state, or federal employee, donate to Reach Out and Read by signing up through your workplace today. We are excited and grateful to be an approved agency for the following employee giving campaigns:
Combined Federal Campaign # 68693
Washington State Combined Fund Drive # 1479175
King County Employee Giving Campaign # 9567
Encourage friends and families who are public employees to participate!
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GIVE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2nd, FOR REACH OUT AND READ
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Save the date! You've heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Now #GivingTuesday adds a new date to the national calendar: a day of giving to raise funds for the important causes you care about. One week from now on Tuesday, December 2nd, GivingTuesday is an opportunity for us all to give thanks and raise funds that change lives. Go to www.reachoutandreadwa.org and click on the yellow DONATE button in the upper right corner on Tuesday, or as you do your year-end giving.
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REACH OUT AND READ WASHINGTON STATE ON FACEBOOK
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Follow Reach Out and Read Washington State on Facebook for early literacy news, reading tips, and brain research information. Please LIKE us and suggest our Facebook page to your friends to help us spread our message about early literacy. Thanks!
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ABOUT REACH OUT AND READ WASHINGTON STATE
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Reach Out and Read helps prepare children to succeed in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together. Our evidence-based proven program leverages the influence of children's doctors and makes literacy a standard part of well-child checkups from ages 6 months through 5 years. Reach Out and Read supports parents as their child's first teacher and helps children be ready for kindergarten.
Through 169 programs in 31 counties, 1,400 medical providers serve an estimated 100,000 children and their families across Washington. Reach Out and Read Washington State is a Regional Office of Reach Out and Read, Inc., a national not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Email - washington@reachoutandread.org
Telephone - 206-524-3579
Fax - 206-524-4768
Address - 155 NE 100th Street - Suite 301, Seattle WA 98125
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