The Mississippi Children’s Museum is proud to partner with Reach Out and Read and the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Reach Out and Read is a national nonprofit that supports healthy early parent-child relationships through shared reading.
CEO of Children’s of Mississippi, Guy Giesecke, explains the impact of this new partnership.
“We know reading at an early age makes a very big difference in the health status of these children, but also their development. The children truly are the future of the state. They’re going to have the impact in the next 10, 20, 30 years. So we want to put them in the best spot possible, and reading at an early age is a very big part of that.”
Dr. Susan Buttross of UMMC tells Twin States News how this partnership will benefit young children throughout the state.
“In the first three years of life the brain triples in size. There is massive growth. There are billions of nerve connections that are happening during that period. The earlier a child starts, the more they are read to when they are young, the more likely they are to succeed in school and then to be a successful workforce member later.”
Reach Out and Read encourages families of all backgrounds to read to their young children using strategies that promote parent-child bonding and connection.
Scholastic’s Chief Impact Officer, Judy Newman, explains the main goal of Reach Out and Read.
“Reach Out and Read is committed to developing literacy for all children beginning at birth. So from birth to five, through every well baby visit, the doctor, the nurse practitioner, the pediatrician work with the families and the caregivers and the children to introduce them to books and reading and the importance of literacy in the family.”
Reach Out and Read invested $15,000 to help MCM get this program started and to support book funding.
Scholastic decided to match the amount and gifted MCM with $15,000 worth of books.
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