As we continue to celebrate our 10th anniversary throughout this year, we thought it would be fun to share 10 facts about Reach Out and Read Wisconsin.
- Since 2010, there has been more than a 400% growth in participating clinics. We have experienced amazing growth since our affiliate started in 2010! Today, more than a third of Wisconsin clinics that provide pediatric primary care partner with Reach Out and Read Wisconsin.
2. Currently, 265 clinics across the state leverage books and conversations about reading aloud to promote positive caregiver-child interactions that foster healthy brain development in the critical first years of life.
Find a participating clinic near you!
3. At those 265 clinics, 1,850 providers are trained on our evidence-based model to give parents supportive, encouraging and positive advice for how to incorporate reading aloud into their daily routines and how parents are their child’s first (and best) teacher.
Example: When reading together, don’t worry about reading every word on the page —your child will enjoy talking about and discussing the pictures, and that’s just fine.
4. Reach Out and Read Wisconsin clinics have collectively completed an astonishing 1,839,149 well-child visits since 2010.
5. Since 2010, Reach Out and Read Wisconsin clinics have given more than 1 million books to children ages 6 months to 5 years, — 1,232,700 to be exact!
6. Since 2010, 31,693 new and 12,097 gently-used books have been donated to Reach Out and Read Wisconsin. These books are delivered to clinics across the state to give out at their well-child visits or in their waiting rooms, to siblings or in a clinic’s Little Free Libraries.
If you are interested in donating books, our virtual book drive is a great way to help while respecting social distancing.
7. In 2017, then – State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Evers, awarded Reach Out and Read Wisconsin with a Friend of Education award. We were recognized for making outstanding contributions to Wisconsin’s children.
In 2018, Wisconsin Literacy presented Reach Out and Read with the Outstanding Achievement in Family Literacy award during their Celebration of Literacy.
8. Reach Out and Read Wisconsin is the early literacy initiative of Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin, a program under Children’s Wisconsin.
The Alliance is made up of seven health initiatives focused on improving children’s health throughout Wisconsin. In 2019, the Alliance celebrated 25 years of being Wisconsin’s voice for children’s health!
9. Since 2012, Reach Out and Read Wisconsin has hosted an annual, day-long meeting to bring together clinics and community partners. This event focuses on education related to early literacy, celebration of the work all the clinics across the state are doing and provides a networking opportunity for participating clinics. More than 360 people have attended since our first meeting.
If you are interested in attending this year’s event, visit our Eventbrite page to learn more.
10. In 2010, when Reach Out and Read Wisconsin was founded we were one of the smallest affiliates in the nation. Today, we are the 5th largest affiliate in the Reach Out and Read network.