Executive Director, Reach out and Read Georgia

MEDIA CONTACT:

Amy Erickson

Executive Director, Reach Out and Read Georgia

(770) 401-6852

First Lady Sandra Deal to Visit Reach Out and Read Military Site

Deal’s Visit to Ft. Benning to Celebrate Georgia Children’s Cabinet “Month of the Military”

Fort Benning, GA (November 13, 2013) – In celebration of Georgia Children’s Cabinet “Month of the Military,” Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal is set to visit the Reach Out and Read program at Fort Benning to read to children and support the national nonprofit’s pediatrics-based early literacy intervention.

“Innovative early literacy interventions like Reach Out and Read have proven that when books are handed out to families during a well-child visit in combination with the important message of education by a trusted doctor that our children arrive school more prepared. Georgia’s youngest children deserve to be ready when they start school – regardless of their zip code. It is a priority to ensure that our children are reading on grade level by 3rd grade to ensure they are on a path towards success and achievement,” said Katie Jo Ballard who co-chairs the Georgia Children’s Cabinet alongside First Lady Sandra Deal. First Lady Deal recently received the Friend of Children Award from the Georgia Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics.

The First Lady’s visit comes on the heels of a $25,000 challenge grant from Bright From the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. “Family engagement is crucial for a child’s success in school. Reach Out and Read Georgia leverages the voices of hundreds of trusted pediatricians who are promoting reading and literacy for our youngest learners by providing books and talking with families about reading aloud to their children. The Reach Out and Read model is research-based and was awarded the 2013 Library of Congress Literacy Award - the prestigious David M. Rubenstein Prize - for advancing literacy in the US. This $25,000 challenge grant is designed to encourage foundations, corporations, and the general public to join in this great effort. It fits perfectly with Governor Nathan Deal's goal of having our children reading at grade level by third grade” said Commissioner Bobby Cagle.

“We were delighted to receive notice that Mrs. Deal would visit Martin Army Community Hospital, MACH, one of five military medical treatment facilities in GA, and see first-hand the impact the program provides for early literacy development and how it strengthens our military families,” said Dr. Katie Westerfield, DO, MACH Medical Director of the Reach Out and Read Program. Westerfield is a third year family medicine resident and the mother of two children.

“The Governor’s Office for Children and Families has been a huge champion in advancing our message about the importance of early education. Our mutual goal is to strengthen military families – they deserve our support” said Amy Erickson, Executive Director of Reach Out and Read Georgia. The First Lady’s visit to Fort Benning takes place on Georgia Gives Day, an initiative to support nonprofits throughout the state.

Page 2 – First Lady Sandra Deal Visits Reach Out and Read Program at Fort Benning

Reach Out and Read’s model includes providing a new, age-appropriate book for each child to take home at every checkup from 6 months through 5 years. Along with the free book for every child, doctors and nurses offer guidance to parents about the importance of reading aloud with their children every day.

Currently, Reach Out and Read Georgia serves nearly 70,000 children in Georgia via 59 clinical locations, including four military bases: Fort Benning, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon and Robins Air Force Base. Nationwide, Reach Out and Read doctors and nurses serve 4 million children and their families annually at 5,000 pediatric practices, hospitals, clinics, and health centers in all 50 states, with a focus on centers that serve low-income communities. Through its Military Initiative, Reach Out and Read serves more than 130,000 children and families on 70 military installations worldwide. More than 600 military medical providers distribute 250,000 books per year.

Reach Out and Read supports and strengthens military families with young children by helping parents understand developmental stages, build routines (like book reading) which reassure children, and develop coping skills essential to families tested by multiple deployments, separations, and reintegration.

Reach Out and Read 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.

In September, Reach Out and Read was named the 2013 recipient of The Library of Congress David M. Rubenstein Prize for the organization’s groundbreaking work advancing literacy. To learn more about Reach Out and Read, please visit www.reachoutandred.org.

For more information on Reach Out and Read, visit www.reachoutandread.org

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