1. family and parenting
2. children

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
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Reach Out and Read Across South Carolina Day
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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.
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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.
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“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
contact@reachoutandreadsc.org
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.
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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
AMY.KASSIS@PALMETTOHEALTH.ORG
5 MEDICAL PARK DRIVE
COLUMBIA, SC 29203-6897
1-877-367-8839 TOLL FREE
can be a
Regional
Trainer!
Reac
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Acro
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ss So
u
Day
was a th Carolin
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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
callee.boulware@palmettohealth.org
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
amy.kassis@palmettohealth.org or call toll free at 1-877-367-8839
and receive a special Reach Out and Read prize!
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