TEMPLE: Clinic's books open minds, horizons

By John Temple

Saturday, December 1, 2007

This is the season of gifts.

The newspaper is full of ideas, from our staff's "gift guide" to = pages of=20 advertisements for everything imaginable that could make a person = happy.

But what really matters are the unexpected delights we experience as = we go=20 about our daily lives throughout the year. That's why I was so taken by = a=20 program I witnessed this week at Sandos Westside Family Health Center on = Denver's west side. It's simple, really.

Parents bring their children to this clinic to see a doctor. A shot. = A=20 routine exam. Or even worse. That's what I used to expect when I had to = go to=20 the doctor at that age.

But instead of every clinic cabinet being full of medical supplies, = there are=20 a few centrally placed shelves stacked with books, beautiful new books, = books=20 appropriate for every age. Along with a medical chart, doctors get from = their=20 assistants a book to give their little patients. This year they'll pass = out=20 6,000 new books, many to families who otherwise wouldn't have one in = their=20 house.

The waiting room is actually a "reading room," where children can = take any=20 book (these are donated - 10,000 used books a year) and keep it.

It's a fascinating concept, adding what might appear an unrelated = benefit to=20 your service. I could see this being applied to other aspects of life, = if we=20 expand our vision of what it is we do. In this case, how the children = handle a=20 book might tell a doctor a lot about their development; so in a subtle = way=20 they're a diagnostic tool. But more important, the books are a key = ingredient in=20 the health of a child, which is ultimately the clinic's central concern. = We=20 know, explained Dr. Steve Vogler, a passionate advocate of the program, = that=20 children who are exposed to books at an early age will be far more = likely to get=20 off to a good start when they begin school.

The clinic is one of about 100 in Colorado that participates in the = Reach Out=20 and Read program, a national nonprofit dedicated to promoting early = literacy by=20 giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance = of=20 reading aloud.

As so many of you do, I have fond memories of my own days reading = aloud to my=20 children, of sounding the words to Goodnight Moon or The = Very=20 Hungry Caterpillar again and again and again.

That other parents who might not have known these pleasures are being = introduced to them by their children's caregivers makes me feel better = about=20 this world. It tells me that if you think a little differently about = what you're=20 doing, you can make a difference in unexpected ways in another person's=20 life.

Of course, that takes a certain genius, something not easy to = find.

This is the kind of thing Starbucks, for example, is on to. You get = coffee,=20 but you also get a comfortable meeting place and exposure to music and = books. Or=20 Tattered Cover, which sells books but really sells the experience of = buying=20 them, an unrushed pleasure. There are other examples.

I hope this newspaper is one. It not only supplies the news, it can = open the=20 world to those who never leave their hometown.

When Megan Wilson, executive director of Reach Out and Read Colorado, = was=20 showing us around the clinic, what we saw was that the books were = introducing=20 another dimension to people's lives, both parents and children.

If only we could find more ways to do the same thing, to help people = see=20 beyond the limits of their own experience. Yes, the way books do.

Seeking nominees

In the "reading room" at the health clinic are snapshots on a = bulletin board,=20 photographs of volunteers who read to children waiting to see their = doctor.=20 Ordinary peple.

It is people like these that the Jefferson Awards are meant to honor, = unpaid=20 volunteers who give of themselves in an extraordinary way and in so = doing make=20 our community a better place.

Each year we at the Rocky honor three such individuals. One = of them=20 is chosen to represent the state at a national event in Washington, = D.C.

But to do our job, we need your help. If you know of such a person, = please=20 nominate him or her for the award. It's not difficult. A form is on = NEWS=20 19 today.

The reward is great, not just for the winners, but also for readers, = who'll=20 meet them in our pages.

Thank you,

John Temple

=C2=A9 Rocky Mountain News