Reach Out & Read

Come Volunteer!

Volunteers read for a minimum of two hours per week during working hours.

If you are interested in being a reader, please contact Claudia Aristy at (212) 562-2540.

The mission of Children of Bellevue’s Reach Out and Read is to prepare New York’s youngest children to succeed in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together. As part of a national Reach Out and Read initiative, pediatricians, parent educators, and volunteer readers at Bellevue Hospital work together to help parents understand the importance of reading aloud and to give books to children at pediatric checkups from 6 months through 5 years of age, with a special focus on children growing up in poverty. Research shows that being read to early and often creates a strong foundation for later learning and ultimate success in school. Being read to also promotes a love of books and reading in young children. The ROR model facilitates this important developmental activity in several ways.

Bellevue’s Reach Out and Read model includes four components:

• In the clinic waiting room, trained community volunteers engage children of all ages in reading activities. The volunteers don’t simply read aloud; they model book-related interactions for parents who sit nearby and watch.
• A ROR parent educator makes in-depth contacts with parents, pointing out their child’s reaction to the books, talking about the importance of language and literacy in the early years and giving advice about reading. The counseling sets the stage for the doctors’ intervention.
• Pediatricians give parents age appropriate advice about the importance of reading aloud during well-child visits. The most important thing parents can do to increase a child’s success in learning to read is to read to that child. Even parents who themselves cannot read can teach their child a love of books by looking at books with their child.
• Pediatricians give children a new book to take home at every check-up, from six months to five years. These books are carefully chosen based on developmental and cultural appropriateness. Children participating in the ROR program will start school with a library of at least 10 books in their homes.