Reach Out & Read Program

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Reach Out & Read Program

PARRISH, Alabama (June 3, 2025) – Reach Out and Read-Alabama, a nonprofit leading the charge in promoting early childhood literacy and healthy early relationships, is expanding its reach with a new clinic sites in Walker and Winston counties at Capstone Health. This addition marks another step toward Reach Out and Read-Alabama’s mission to ensure that every child has the resources and relationships to learn and thrive. In partnership with pediatric clinicians, the organization integrates the power of books and reading into regular well-child visits from birth to age 5 — a critical time for brain and relationship development.

Capstone Health is now part of Reach Out and Read’s evidence-based program, which serves children in all 50 states and reaches more than 4.4 million children annually, including 224,500 in Alabama. Reach Out and Read taps into the nearly universal pediatric well-child visit, using children’s books and shared reading to help parents and caregivers nurture strong relationships and foster language and literacy development.

“Bringing Reach Out and Read to Alabama means more than putting books in more hands— we’re also empowering families, building bonds, and laying the foundation for a child’s lifelong success,” said Amy Crosby, Program Director, Reach Out and Read-Alabama. “This program transforms the exam room into a place where relationships grow and futures take shape — one book at a time.”

This launch is part of a broader effort by Reach Out and Read-Alabama to grow its network of 86 sites to reach more children, with an emphasis on under-resourced communities. Through a trusted connection between clinicians and families, Reach Out and Read makes reading aloud a regular part of children’s lives, starting at birth — and helps ensure every child enters school ready to learn.

“At Capstone Health, we believe that every child deserves a strong start,” said Jamie Sanford, Early Childhood Development Manager. “By bringing Reach Out and Read into our clinics, we’re not just handing out books — we’re opening doors to brighter futures, strengthening family bonds, and supporting healthy development in the earliest, most critical years of life.”

In FY24, Reach Out and Read provided 7.7 million free books, including 154,579 in Alabama. Nearly half of the children served are from low-resource families.

To learn more about Reach Out and Read and the programs offered visit roralabama.org. Reach Out and Read-Alabama is a program of the Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

About Reach Out and Read: As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, Reach Out and Read leverages the near-universal reach of the pediatric well-child visit to support caregivers in fostering healthy relationships with their young children through shared reading. In FY24, Reach Out and Read served more than 4.6 million children and provided 7.7 million free books across 9.3 million well-child visits. Around 70 percent of the children Reach Out and Read serves are from low-income families. The only national pediatric literacy model endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Reach Out and Read serves children in every state across the U.S., through 6,500 clinics and the expertise of 39,000 clinicians. Recent research in a peer-reviewed study published in Academic Pediatrics confirms the program's effectiveness in increasing the frequency of parental reading, which builds early language and literacy skills and strengthens family relationships

Reach Out and Read-Alabama expands with new clinics in Walker County | News | mountaineagle.com