Reach Out and Read of Greater New York Inc

Pediatricians know how important it is for children to grow up with books of their own.  In fact, children with family members who read aloud with them daily develop stronger language skills and start school ready to learn.  That’s why pediatricians in over 180 locations across the New York metropolitan region partner with Reach Out and Read to provide free, new books to New York's neediest children and literacy guidance to their parents, with an emphasis on encouraging parents to read aloud with their children every day.  Together, we are giving children a prescription for the future.

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WHAT WE DO

• During regular pediatric checkups, Reach Out and Read pediatricians, family physicians, and nurse practitioners give new, developmentally-appropriate books to children, ages 6 months through 5 years, and advise parents about the importance of reading aloud.

• As a result of this evidence-based intervention, parents learn new ways to stimulate their children’s literacy development, have more books in their home, and read to their children more. Parents are supported as their children’s first and most important teachers, and children grow up to become readers.

• Our organization builds on the trust and respect parents have for their children’s pediatrician, as well as the frequent access pediatricians have with young children, to deliver the important message: reading aloud with children every day is one of the best ways to prepare them to succeed in school. 

 

WHY WE DO IT

• The first five years of life offer a critical window for learning, with rapid brain development that does not occur at any other time. Many children, especially from low-income families, are not read to from birth. Children who grow up without enough exposure to language arrive at school without basic literacy skills, and often struggle with reading in early grades.

• Reach Out and Read delivers results. Our program is a proven intervention, supported by 15 independent, published research studies. During the preschool years, children served by Reach Out and Read score three to six months ahead of their non-Reach Out and Read peers on vocabulary tests, preparing them to start school on target.

• Reach Out and Read medical providers work with families to prepare all children to enter kindergarten ready to read, learn, and succeed. Research shows that children who start school on track are more likely to reach their full educational, social, and life potential.

 

OUR IMPACT

Reach Out and Read of Greater New York serves over a quarter of a million children at more than 180 locations, including all the major hospitals in the New York City area.  Nationwide, Reach Out and Read reaches 4 million children and families through 5,000 locations in every U.S. state.  Few nonprofits operate on the same scale as Reach Out and Read.