Making Books Part of a Healthy Childhood PRST STD US Postage PAID Columbia, SC Permit # 740 Spring 2003 Issue 2 www.reachoutandreadsc.org Reach Out and Read Five Medical Park Drive Columbia, South Carolina 29203-6897 R Reach Out and Read Across South Carolina Day d ed an p l e h t l l t h a in a o t ay! d s D e k t n C a a S p i s c Th parti e a d A c r o s R t and u O each FEATURED SITE An Med Children’s Clinic We would like to congratulate An Med Children’s Clinic as our ROR-SC featured site for this Spring! An Med has been an active ROR site for almost 6 years, beginning even before the ROR-SC Coalition formed in 1998. An Med currently sees over 3200 children between the ages of 0 and 5 annually for well-child checkups, and has been successful in maintaining the program for all this time. Dr. Joe Geer is perhaps one of the best ROR advocates we have in South Carolina, and we are fortunate to call him a Reach Out and Read partner. In addition to maintaining the ROR program successfully, An Med Children’s Clinic also agreed to participate in the first-annual Reach Out and Read Across South Carolina Day on March 3, 2003. Dr. Geer, Regional Coordinator Gail Phillips, and the other ROR advocates in the clinic welcomed Congressman Gresham Barrett to their site to read with children and celebrate Dr. Seuss’s Birthday. We would like to thank Dr. Geer and the other medical staff at An Med Children’s Clinic for their continued support of ROR, and for their dedication to pediatric literacy. We salute you as this quarters featured site! On March 3, 2003, ROR advocates across the state joined to celebrate pediatric literacy. The day, in conjunction with Reach Across America Day, brought 3 US Congressman from SC and the Governor of SC to ROR sites across the state to read. Congressman Gresham Barrett (top right), Henry Brown (bottom right), and James Clyburn (middle right) all participated as well as Governor Mark Sanford (left). Gresham Barrett read with children at Easley Pediatrics in Easley, SC and then traveled to Anderson to share books with children at An Med Children’s Center. We cannot thank the clinics enough for their cooperation with this event. The Congressman read with children in the waiting area of each clinic, and then received a site tour from the medical director of each site, learning how ROR works in the pediatric setting to get books and literacy education to children and parents. Congressman Brown traveled to MUSC Pediatric Primary Care in Charleston, SC to read with children there. Both visits were met with media attention, and important community guests, all learning together about ROR and celebrating the important of pediatric literacy. In Columbia, Congressman James Clyburn read with children at Sterling Sharpe Pediatrics in Eau Clair, highlighting the work that is being done in that clinic to get books to as many children as possible. Then Governor Mark Sanford read with children at the Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital Outpatient Clinic. We would like to thank our partners and sponsors for their continued support. Reach Out and Read Coordinators, Candace Perry & Tammy Epps along with AnMed staff and SC ROR’s Callee Boulware. 4 Each guest reader received a ROR hat and a Dr. Suess “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” tie as a special thanks for being a part of the First Annual Reach Out and Read Across South Carolina Day. In addition, we had two special guests from the ROR National Center. Kelly Taranto and Matt Veno from Boston came down to meet with the guests and help us make the event a success. We would like to thank all the people who helped with this event. All the site coordinators, medical directors, medical staff at the clinics, regional coordinators, and all others involved for their great help and hard work as we celebrated. We look forward to making this an annual event, and sharing the program and its growth with guest readers each year. 1 “What’s Happening” Would you be interested in a ROR State Conference? For more information contact ROR toll free at 1-877-367-8839 or email [email protected] CONDENSED Remarks by Mrs. Bush at American Academy of Pediatrics Boston, Massachusetts Since its beginning in 1989, Reach Out and Read has grown to 1,400 sites across America. As the program has grown and spread, so too has the message that reading is vital for young, healthy children. I first became aware of the Reach Out and Read program when my husband was governor of Texas. In 1997, I helped launch the first program site in the state. Later, I worked to establish a state Reach Out and Read office. Reach Out and Read enables physicians to help develop a family's love of reading together. Physicians do not simply pass out books; they follow a proven strategy for reading guidance. When children go for a check-up, they and their parents hear stories read by volunteers in the waiting room. Pediatricians encourage parents to read aloud every day and explain the importance of reading at home. They show picture books to children and their parents early in the visit to model reading together. Pediatricians refer parents to local libraries and reading programs. And children are delighted when they are given a beautiful new book to take home and read with their parents. As I travel to Reach Out and Read sites across the country, doctors tell me about how much pleasure they get from being able to offer books to their young patients. They tell stories of children running happily into the room to ask for a book to add to their library, and of parents coming back to report on the newly discovered joy of reading a bedtime story. The American Academy of Pediatrics is a great supporter of many pediatric literacy programs, including Reach Out and Read. I commend the Academy for encouraging pediatricians to promote early language and pre-reading skills and for providing the materials and resources to do so. With our continued support, Reach Out and Read can meet its goal of launching 1,500 new program sites in the next five years. I encourage every pediatrician here to reach out to their young patients and their families and share with them the gift of reading. Educating parents about the importance of reading should become a standard part of what pediatricians do, much as health and safety guidance is now. What pediatricians do through programs like Reach Out and Read is just as important as immunizations, car seats, vitamins and good nutrition. I encourage you to get involved with Reach Out and Read and implement an early childhood reading program in your office. We all have a duty to help ensure that every child is prepared for success in school and for a lifetime of learning and opportunity. Thank you. 2 Reach Out and Read has been selected for Worth Magazine’s list of 100 Best Charities. See the article at www.worth.com. NEW SITE! Reach Out and Read of South Carolina welcomes its newest site! Cherokee Children’s Care in Cherokee, SC. We look forward to working with Dr. Furr and Susan Amos! Welcome to all new ROR volunteers , and thanks to all current volunteers! ALL are welcome to attend! ROR National Conference May 30-June Boston, MA National Success by Six May 21-23 Charlotte, NC South Carolina AAP July 24-27 Asheville, NC ROR-SC Regional Meetings Northwest June 9th Greenville, SC Northeast June 10th Sumter, SC Low Country June 11th Charleston, SC Midlands June 12th Columbia, SC Exact locations TBA, call the ROR state office for directions and times. REACH OUT AND READ FACTS A Remainder of One. MISSION: Reach Out and Read makes literacy promotion a standard part of pediatric primary care, so that children grow up with books and a love of reading. By Elinor J Pinczes; Bonnie MacKain (Illustrator) Publication Date: 08/26/2002. Full-color illustrations. Paperback; 32 pages. $5.95. ISBN: 0618250778 Age Range 4 - 8 years. Grade Range: Pre K - 3. Accomplishments · Currently, there are more than 1,400 ROR program sites based on the ROR model, all located at clinics, hospitals, office practices or other primary care sites. · Program sites can be found in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. · ROR serves 1.5 million children annually. · ROR distributes 3 million books each year. · More than 14,000 pediatricians, nurses, and other clinicians have been trained in the ROR strategies of early literacy. · Reach Out and Read is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Hup, two, three, four! We're in the 25th Army Corps. Queen's count! Two, three! We are the marching infantry! Poor Joe! He wants to march in the parade, but every time the lines are uneven, he must stand aside. What's a poor bug to do? Joe is determined. He studies the problem, relining the twenty-five bugs in his squadron from two lines to three lines to four lines, until inspiration and fortitude result in five lines of five -- and Joe fits in the last. YOU The Importance of Early Literacy - and Early Intervention · Children who live in print-rich environments and who are read to during the first years of life are more likely to learn to read on schedule. · 16% of parents of children age three years and younger do not read at all with their children, and 23% do so only once or twice a week.* · Percentages are even lower among low-income families, whose children face the highest risk of literacy problems. · Reading difficulty contributes to school failure, which increases the risk of absenteeism, leaving school, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, and teenage pregnancy - all of which perpetuate the cycles of poverty and dependency. · Families living in poverty often lack the money to buy new books, as well as access to libraries. · Parents who may not have been read to as children themselves may not realize the tremendous value of reading to their own children Goals ROR plans to launch 300 new program sites per year for the next five years. That will double the number of children receiving books and guidance to approximately 3 million children annually, with a special focus on children living in poverty. Read Out and Read (ROR) programs seek to make early literacy a standard part of pediatric primary care. Pediatricians and family practitioners encourage parents to read aloud to their young children and give books to their patients to take home at all pediatric wellchild check-ups from six months to five years of age. Parents learn that reading aloud is the most important thing they can do to help their children love books and to start school ready to learn. In the waiting room at a ROAR clinic there are often volunteers ready to read to the children. PLEASE SUBMIT NEWSLETTER IDEAS & SUGESTIONS TO AMY KASSIS AT [email protected] 5 MEDICAL PARK DRIVE COLUMBIA, SC 29203-6897 1-877-367-8839 TOLL FREE can be a Regional Trainer! Reac h Ou t and Acro Read ss So u Day was a th Carolin a great Than succe k you ss! to al l tha parti t cipat ed! If you are a MD, RN or PNP, that has helped lead a ROR program and is enthusiastic about pediatric literacy intervention, then YOU are the perfect candidate to become a Regional Trainer! For more information contact Callee Boulware at [email protected] or call 877-367-8839. Reach Out and Read Quiz 1. 2. 3. 4. Approximately how many children does ROR serve per year? How many sites are in the Low Country Region? Name 3 of the 10 Tips for Volunteer Readers. A $_____ gift provides the first board book for 20 babies at their 6 month check up. 5. What are the two “thank you” gifts that each quest reader received for being a part of the First Annual Reach Out and Read Across South Carolina Day? Anderson Independent Article: Politicians to help in reading program March 2, 2003 State political leaders will be helping kick off the Reach Out and Read program today by reading to area children at pediatric centers in Easley and Anderson. U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, RWestminster, will travel to Easley Pediatrics and to AnMed Child Health Center today to read to children and give the public a tour of the pediatrics facilities, a news release said. Gov. Mark Sanford will appear at a hospital in Columbia to participate in the same program. At 9:30 a.m., Rep. Barrett will be at Easley Pediatrics at 800 N. A St. in Easley and AnMed Children’s Health Center at 500 N. Fant St. at 11 a.m. Finding the answers to this quiz from the ROR-SC website will help you learn to navigate around the site. Go to www.reachoutandreadsc.org to locate the answers. Submit your responses by June 1st to [email protected] or call toll free at 1-877-367-8839 and receive a special Reach Out and Read prize! 3
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