More than 1/2 of NYC’s public school 3rd graders read below grade level.
The problem is even bigger in communities of concentrated poverty, where
one age-appropriate book exists for every 300 children. Caregivers in these communities lack resources to read to their kids on a regular basis.
Without a regular reading ritual, young children will enter kindergarten at a tremendous disadvantage and spend elementary school catching up.
Children who do not read proficiently by 3rd grade are
4x more likely to drop out of school.
Reach Out and Read is a research-driven intervention that provides children with books during pediatric checkups so that families can read to their children at home.
We partner with health care providers to put books in the hands of children, from birth to 5 years old, and literacy resources in the hands of caregivers.
We make reading aloud a routine part of well-child visits so that families make reading a routine at home.
We’re changing New York.
230 program sites in Greater New York
250,000 children served annually
3-6 mo. advantage in early vocabulary
6 million books for 1 million families since 1999
In the News
- Dr. Salcedo and Marty Martinez talk Early Literacy on Bronx Net
Kibin Alleyne is joined by Marty Martinez, CEO of Reach Out and Read; along with Dr. Vanessa Salcedo, Greater New York Clinician of Reach Out and Read at Union Community Health Center in the Bronx, to discuss how early literacy helps support healthy brain development. - Pediatric Meltdown Podcast with Claudia Aristy & Dr. Lia Gaggino
Reach Out and Read: How A Book Can Change A Life What happens when a pediatrician hands a free book to a parent and changes the trajectory of a life? … Read more: Pediatric Meltdown Podcast with Claudia Aristy & Dr. Lia Gaggino - Reach Out and Read GNY at the 2024 Somos Conference: Building Literacy and Resilience in Latino Youth
At the 2024 Somos conference in Puerto Rico, Reach Out and Read of Greater New York was honored to participate in the Rising Readers Panel: Building Literacy and Resilience in… Read more: Reach Out and Read GNY at the 2024 Somos Conference: Building Literacy and Resilience in Latino Youth - Eva Mendes to Receive Children’s Literacy Award at the Reach Out and Read of Greater New York 25th Anniversary Gala
A BOOK FOR EVERY CHILD: 25 YEARS & COUNTING! October 9, 2024, at City Winery, NYC New York, NY — Reach Out and Read of Greater New York (ROR GNY)… Read more: Eva Mendes to Receive Children’s Literacy Award at the Reach Out and Read of Greater New York 25th Anniversary Gala - New York Family: Read to Your Babies and Toddlers for Lifelong Benefits, Says New Pediatric Update
Read to Your Babies and Toddlers for Lifelong Benefits, Says New Pediatric Update If you read to your babies and toddlers, you are giving them way more than just a… Read more: New York Family: Read to Your Babies and Toddlers for Lifelong Benefits, Says New Pediatric Update - Bellevue’s Claudia Aristy was a Featured Plenary Speaker at AAP National Conference with Dr. Perri Klass
Pediatricians play key role in early literacy, creating family bonds through reading. Editor’s note: The 2024 AAP National Conference & Exhibition is taking place from Sept. 27-Oct. 1 in Orlando, Fla.… Read more: Bellevue’s Claudia Aristy was a Featured Plenary Speaker at AAP National Conference with Dr. Perri Klass
See what people are saying…
“Studies of Reach Out and Read show that participating parents read more and children’s preschool vocabularies improve when parents read more.”
“It has doctors, actually has doctors distribute books, almost like prescribing reading for children.”
“A large body of research has shown that children who are exposed to books at a young age go on to do better on a wide variety of measures…”
“Dr. Mogilner and thousands of doctors throughout the city take literacy promotion one step further.”