-The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper

The Little Engine That Could is one of my all-time favorite books. I loved having my parents read it to me as a child, and I remember how much fun it was to "accidentally" say the wrong words when reading to my son, and have him correct me. It's such a great story about perseverance, and about doing the right thing to help little girls and boys!

We feel a bit like that Little Engine at Reach Out and Read. Organizationally, we're a small entity. But we support over 1,400 medical providers who in turn serve 100,000 young children and their families across Washington. Our 'engine' helps define the goals, inspire doctors to participate, and provide support and direction to make it easier for medical providers to support parents and put books into the hands of children all year long.

We're excited about continuing attention to early learning at the national, state, and local levels. From the White House Summit, to Governor Inslee's budget proposal to increase investments in Early Learning, to Seattle's preschool program, there is momentum.

But we also feel like a Little Engine when we see how easy it is for parent engagement and support for babies and toddlers to get a bit lost with the attention on preschool; or when a very small budget item like Reach Out and Read isn't mentioned when the focus is on the bigger requests. A story in The Atlantic helps balance the coverage and explain the need:  When It Comes to Early Learning, Preschool Isn't Enough. 

At the same time we're also thrilled to see many people take a comprehensive approach to education, both within early learning (Early Learning Action Alliance) and across the cradle to career education continuum (Cradle Through College Coalition). Harnessing together people and organizations around common goals for investment in education is vital to the success of our children, and our state.

I'm going to finish with one last train analogy! Our Little Engine is in continual need of fuel to help us make it up and over that hill to provide for all the girls and boys who need books, and whose families appreciate the support as doctors help them be their child's first teachers. So we invite you to support our work in your year-end giving, and to make your purchases count as well (see below for details).

As we move through the heart of the holiday season, we wish you and your family peace and joy. We also wish you time to cuddle up with a book, and to rest up for January. Reach Out and Read and our youngest learners need your support for Early Learning this legislative session!

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Email - washington@reachoutandread.org

Telephone - 206-524-3579
Fax - 206-524-4768  

Address - 155 NE 100th Street - Suite 301, Seattle WA 98125