Reach Out & Read Iowa's Story
Our first program launched in 1998 at Blank's Children's Hospital, distributing 3,551 books within their first year. Since then, we have grown tremendously. In 2018, Reach Out & Read Iowa has 100 active programs serving 71,218 children.
Walk through a well-child visit at a Reach Out & Read Iowa program
at Blank Children's Hospital
We recruit and support all prospective programs and providers, especially clinics serving children with risk factors for school failure, such as low income status, depending on public or no health insurance, minority race or ethnicity, and English language learners.
Learn how Reach Out & Read program sites positively impact Iowa families.
Recruitment, training and technical assistance, assuring quality, raising awareness, advocacy, and public/private funding are all components of Reach Out and Read Iowa's continued success in promoting and encouraging families to talk, sing, play and read together.
Reach Out & Read's National Story
Two Boston Medical Center pediatricians introduced the first Reach Out and Read program in 1989. American Academy of Pediatrics officially endorsed The Reach Out and Read Model in 1998.
Dr. Needlman, Co-founder of Reach Out & Read, explains why reading aloud with your child matters.
By 2001, Reach Out & Read had 1,456 programs sites in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, distributing 1.6 million books.
Our programs served more than 1/3 of American children living in poverty in 2011, when we expanded our programs to 51 U.S. military bases.
We were awarded the international Confucius Prize from United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2007.
As of 2015, Reach Out and Read has a total of 5,800 programs in the U.S.
