Our Vision
A world where every child has the relationships essential to learn and thrive.
Our Mission
Strengthen all families with young children through guidance from medical clinicians about nurturing relationships through shared reading.
Reach Out and Read is a national nonprofit that champions the positive effects of shared reading and engaging in other language-rich activities with young children. Reading with a parent or caregiver promotes healthy brain development, furthers language acquisition, and helps families build meaningful bonds.
We serve
4.4 million children
across the country
Our network of pediatric teams provides families at routine check-ups with the knowledge and tools they need to make reading a part of their daily routine. By integrating reading aloud into pediatric care, we reach 4.4 million children across the country—with more than three-fourths of whom come from low-income families.
Together, we can make reading a part of every child’s life and help provide all young people with a foundation for success throughout their lives.
Our History
Reach Out and Read was founded in 1989 to help families make reading a part of their routines, and to supply the books they need to get started. Since those early days at Boston City Hospital (now Boston Medical Center), we’ve grown dramatically: We’re now in all 50 states, with 6,200 program sites that provide 7.1 million books each year.
“Every child should have the head start of a book of their own. Every parent should learn the importance and joy of reading to their child.”
Reach Out and Read has been widely recognized for our work.
The American Academy of Pediatrics
(AAP) has officially endorsed the Reach
Out and Read model since 1998.