April 2011
Reach Out and Read CEO Interviewed
On the heels of the launch of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, a national effort to raise awareness of the importance of ensuring all children can read well by 3rd grade, Maureen Kelleher of Education Week interviewed Reach Out and Read's National CEO, Earl Martin Phalen (click on Education Week for the Q&A).

In an online article posted by Fundraising Success,Earl talks about the organization's fundraising history, current strategies, and what he'd like to see the organization focus on in the future. With an emphasis on shifting Reach Out and Read's fundraising efforts from focusing on books to building infrastructure, Earl imparts his insight on what is working, what could be done differently, and gives advice to similar organizations.

Meghan Treitz Receives Young Investigator Award
Meghan Treitz, a Pediatrician at The Children's Hospital in Denver and avid Reach Out and Read supporter, was awarded $15,000 in funding for her project, Promoting Early Childhood Literacy with Low Income Families in a Primary Care Pediatric Clinic Using a Video Tutorial to Teach Dialogic Reading. The project was selected for funding by the 2011 Academic Pediatric Association Young Investigator Award (YIA) Program for Primary Care Strategies for the Promotion of Early Literacy and School Readiness Supported by Reach Out and Read. Congratulations, Meghan!

The New York Times Recognizes Reach Out and Read
On April 15 The New York Times ran a wonderfully in-depth article about the many benefits of the Reach Out and Read program. Interviewing Dr. Perri Klass, Reach Out and Read's National Medical Director, Earl Phalen, Reach Out and Read's CEO, and Dr. Barry Zuckerman, who along with Dr. Robert Needlman founded Reach Out and Read, the article expounds on the history, the present and the future plans of the program.

Alamosa County Public Health Department is Newest Reach Out and Read Site
A press release was published in the Alamosa County website on April 13 to announce that the Alamosa County Public Health Department is now participating in the Reach Out and Read program. Mary Vozar, Reach Out and Read Colorado's Southwest Regional Coordinator, helped train the staff in the Reach Out and Read model, and a child-friendly reading area was created in the waiting room with donated gently-used books for all ages.

March 2011
Eagle Valley Medical Center joins Reach Out and Read
The Eagle Valley Enterprise posted an announcement about one of Reach Out and Read Colorado's newest clinics. Eagle Valley Medical Center doctors Angela Ammon, Mike Cassat and Crystal Roney will join in with more than 4,654 programs nationwide who are helping prepare America's young children to succeed in school. Welcome aboard!

Open a child's mind with an open book
Reach Out and Read Colorado's Southwest Regional Coordinator, Mary Vozar, wrote an article for the Cortez Journal, beautifully describing what early literacy means and how the Reach Out and Read model is a perfect avenue for achieving early literacy in young children. By creating a fun, verbal and stimulating environment, a child's interest in books and reading increases, thus opening the door for success in literacy, reading and, ultimately, school.

Can you read this? You have someone to thank
The Durango Herald published an article by Dr. Matthew A. Clark, a board-certified physician in internal medicine and pediatrics practicing at the Ute Mountain Health Center in Towaoc. Dr. Clark describes the numerous benefits for children of reading (and being read to), and encourages parents to read aloud to their children every day.

February 2011
Reach Out and Read: Best Rx for School Readiness
The February issue of Pediatric News featured an article by Dr. Suzanne Boulter, adjunct professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, New Hampshire, and medical director for Reach Out and Read in that state.

Reach Out and Read Program Expands in Durango
Dr. Pakhi Chaudhuri and the Reach Out and Read program at Pediatric Associates of Durango were featured in an article in The Durango Telegraph. The clinic has participated in the program for five years, and Reach Out and Read Colorado's presence in Durango is about to expand: The Nurse Family Parntership is applying to incorporate Reach Out and Read into their program, which visits first-time mothers to provide care and support for the first two years.

Reach Out and Read Colorado Named Nonprofit of the Month
Bruce DeBoskey, a Denver-based philanthropic adviser with The DeBoskey Group, not only included Reach Out and Read Colorado in his Denver Post article about involving your kids in your philanthropic giving, but named Reach Out and Read as the Nonprofit of the Month! Read the full article here.

Med Prep High School Students Host Book Drive
Meghan Treitz of The Children's Hospital of Denver (far right) poses with a group of Med Prep high school students displaying the results of their recent book drive, where they collected gently used books for Reach Out and Read Colorado. This dedicated group of students, interested in pursuing careers in medicine, not only collect books for the program but also participate as volunteer readers in the waiting room at Children's Hospital.

January 2011
Western Colorado Pediatric Associates Receives Richard Robinson Award
Nana Hastings, the waiting room reader at Western Colorado Pediatric Associates, is in the spotlight again! This time with Cathie Clark as part of the team that won the Richard Robinson Award, the highest honor Reach Out and Read National bestows upon its clinics, named after the President and CEO of Scholastic Inc., Reach Out and Read’s strongest and longest-standing partner in literacy.  The award recognizes the extraordinary implementation of the Reach Out and Read model by an individual Program. The clinic will receive a special gift of 1,000 books from the Reach Out and Read National Center and a clinic representative will be presented the award at a dinner on March 2 in Washington, DC. Read an article by the Grand Junction Free Press and watch the Channel 5 news coverage.

Pediatrics of Steamboat Springs' Reach Out and Read Program Gets Press
While it's one of Reach Out and Read Colorado's newest sites, having just joined in November 2010, Pediatrics of Steamboat Springs is not off to a slow start. A recent article in Steamboat Today spotlights Nikki Casteel, practice manager, and the wonderful effects the Reach Out and Read program there is already having on its youngest patients.

October 2010
Englewood Teen Collects Books for Reach Out and Read
Alex Izbiky collected 356 books for Reach Out and Read Colorado for his Bar Mitzvah service project. His book collection happened over the course of September and culminated on the date of his Bar Mitzvah, October 2nd. Alex put Reach Out and Read Colorado book collection bins at Temple Sinai and also reached out to neighbors and friends for donations. Additionally, every person who RSVP’d for his Bar Mitzvah received a letter explaining a bit about Reach Out and Read and his Book Drive. Temple Sinai donated several books from their pre-school classrooms. Alex and his family found out about the Reach Out and Read program by Googling “nonprofit book children” while looking for a project. Thank you Alex and your family and friends for your generous donation and spreading the word about the program!

August 2010
Mutual of Omaha's AHA Moment Campaign Interviews Grand Junctionites
Mutual of Omaha hired a production company to tour around the country in a 34-foot Airstream mobile film studio to capture the country's AHA moments. At each stop, they film dozens of people who speak about their own AHA moments. Those clips may be used on Mutual's website, or in a future ad! Western Colorado Pediatric Associates was interviewed for the AHA Moment tour, and Cathie Clark, a Reach Out and Read Site Coordinator and NaNa Hastings, a full time waiting room reader (pictured at left) shared their AHA moments. Read the stories at the Daily Sentinel and at nbc11news.com.

Representative Mike Coffman Visits a Reach Out and Read Clinic
On August 2nd, Representative Mike Coffman visited Doctors Care in Littleton, showing his support of the Reach Out and Read Program. After reading to a group of children in the waiting room, Congressman Coffman toured the Doctors Care Clinic with Megan Wilson, Reach Out and Read Colorado Executive Director, Bebe Kleinman, Doctors Care Executive Director, and Dr. Nancy Mitchell, Reach Out and Read Medical Champion at Doctors Care.

July 2010
Reach Out and Read Included in The Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics' Annual Report
Featured in The Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics' 2009 Annual Report is the story of Thelma, a single mom of four who, along with all the other services she's grateful for at the clinic, loves the Reach Out and Read program. She says her kids devour the books they receive and they always read together before bed. Thank you, Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics for sharing the true impact the Reach Out and Read program is having in the lives of its recipients.

Click on the image for the full report.

June 2010
The Tattered Cover and Colorado State Bank and Trust June Book Drive
The Tattered Cover Book Stores and Colorado State Bank and Trust collected over 1,500 new and gently used books in their 3rd Annual June Children's Book Drive benefiting Reach Out and Read Colorado. The books, which will all go to Colorado children through the Reach Out and Read childhood literacy program, were donated by the Tattered Cover's generous customers and augmented by a matching donation from the Tattered Cover (1 book for every 10 donated at the Tattered Cover collection sites).

April 2010
Reach Out and Read Program at JeffCo Public Health Honored at Good News Breakfast
The Reach Out and Read Colorado program at JeffCo Public Health was honored at a breakfast hosted by The Good News Coalition of Jefferson County whose mission is to bring citizens together to celebrate the positive happenings and spiritual values that link our diverse communities. The Good News Breakfast celebrated some of the positive values and happenings throughout Jefferson County and honored individuals who strive to ensure literacy for life, both for themselves and others within the community. An article posted on YourHub.com featured the good work the JeffCO Public Health Nurses (shown above with their new plaque) are doing at the clinic.

Reach Out and Read Translates National Website into Spanish
Reach Out and Read's National Center unveiled the Spanish version of their website on April 15. Reach Out and Read serves more than one million Latino children and families nationwide, and 86% of Reach Out and Read Programs serve families for whom Spanish is their first language. While Reach Out and Read has 14 published research studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of the program, its impact on Spanish-speaking families has been found to be even more significant.  In fact, one study found that Spanish-speaking parents served by Reach Out and Read were up to 10 times more likely to read to their children every day than those not served by the program.  Those children are more likely to enter kindergarten prepared to succeed.

January 2010
Six New Clinics in January
In January 2010 Reach Out and Read Colorado welcomed six new clinics! This means we’ll be placing new books in the hands of 2,900 more children through new program participants: Peak Vista Community Health Centers in Colorado Springs; Peak Vista Community Health Centers in Fountain; Peak Vista Community Health Centers--Divide Health Center; Peak Vista Community Health Centers--Entrada Health Center in Colorado Springs; Washington County Clinic in Akron; and Glenwood Medical Associates in Glenwood Springs. They join the ranks of the existing 132 clinics statewide which serve over 82,000 children and their families.

December 2009
Reach Out and Read featured in Advances in Pediatrics
In an article entitled Reach Out and Read: Literacy Promotion in Pediatric Primary Care, Advances in Pediatrics presents an overview of Reach Out and Read's impact over the past 20 years.  This article examines Reach Out and Read's history and impact on the families participating in the program, and offers Reach Out and Read as a tool to help promote school-readiness. Read the full article.

The Annual Tattered Cover Holiday Children’s Book Drive was a Success Once Again!
This past holiday season, the Tattered Cover once again collected new and gently used children's books to be distributed to Reach Out and Read Colorado sites across the state. Beginning December 1st, collection boxes were displayed in all three Tattered Cover locations in the Denver Metro Area for the entire month of December. The goal of the drive was to collect books for children 6 months to 5 years. In addition to hosting the Book Drive, the Tattered Cover donated one additional new book for every 10 books donated to the drive.  The Book Drive collected a total of 2,252 books which were distributed to clinics in Fort Morgan, Cortez and everywhere in between! These books will support the Reach Out and Read program at each of these clinics by providing reading materials for literacy-rich waiting rooms, books for siblings of Reach Out and Read patients and children at sick visits.

August/September 2009          
State Representatives Visit Reach Out and Read Colorado Clinics
On August 19, 2009, Representative Betsy Markey visited the Monfort Family Clinic in Evans, CO, a part of Sunrise Community Health, Inc., not only to show her support for Reach Out and Read Colorado, but to put doctors’ advice of reading aloud to your children into practice by reading to a group of young patients. On September 1, Representative Jared Polis also showed his support of Reach Out and Read Colorado by reading to children at the Grand County Public Health Clinic in Hot Sulphur Springs, CO. Nationally, Reach Out and Read is supported by $6 million in federal funding.

June 13th, 2009
Reach Out and Read Colorado Hosts First Read and Romp
On June 13th, Reach Out and Read Colorado hosted its first Read and Romp event at the L2 Event Center on East Colfax. Over 30 children attended and visited stations based on favorite children's books and characters. They got their picture taken with Clifford the Big Red Dog, played musical instruments in the music room, listened to stories and made masks fit for wild things along with many more crafts and activities. A huge "Thank You" goes out to our sponsors: Metropath, Music Together, Red Robin, Robinson Dairy, Tattered Cover Bookstore, Wheeler Trigg Kennedy Foundation and Whole Foods Market.

November 19th, 2008
Reach Out and Read Colorado Wins El Pomar Award For Excellence in Education Category
Reach Out and Read Colorado was named the winner of the Education category at the El Pomar Awards of Excellence ceremony November 19th in Colorado Springs, receiving a $15,000 prize. During the ceremony at Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts, awards were presented in 11 different categories and winners was revealed at the ceremony. The other finalists in the Education category were Junior Achievement of Southern Colorado, Inc. and KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy (winner of the Spencer and Julie Penrose Award as the outstanding nonprofit of the year). Participating Reach Out and Read Clinic, Clinica Tepeyac was also a winner that night when it was named winner in the Self-Supporting Category. Those on hand to celebrate are pictured on the left. They were: (Back Row l-r) Jayson Goldinger, Board Member Heather Duncan, Board Member Peter Konrad, Medical Director Dr. Steve Vogler, Program Coordinator Melissa Elgersma, Hal Logan. (Front Row l-r) Executive Director Megan Wilson, Trainer Magdalena Aguayo, Board Chair Ann Logan, and Breakfast Committee co-Chair Honey Goldberg.