Funding Area: Education
Reach Out and Read is a medically-based early literacy intervention, nationally recognized in the American Academy of Pediatrics endorsement of early literacy promotion in regular pediatric care. This endorsement is due to the intervention’s evidence base and researched effects on low-income and Latino families. Reach Out and Read’s impact is two generational—it builds children’s home libraries in low-income households, and positively influences parental behaviors affecting healthy language and literacy development for their child.
ROR Carolinas (RORC) is the regional coalition supporting the now 400+ clinical programs across North and South Carolina, whose mission is to provide a medically based literacy intervention for all children birth to 5 years of age, beginning with families living in poverty. By changing the way parents interact with their children daily around language and literacy, RORC is preparing children for lifelong success. RORC has been at the forefront of building the effective integration of literacy promotion into existing healthcare systems, integrating public and private partnerships, and supporting high quality, sustainable programs at the state, local and program level.
For more information, please visit test.rorcarolinas.org. Find us on Facebook at test.facebook.com/rorcarolinas and follow us on Twitter @rorcarolinas.
Our involvement: The Marty Tomberg Charitable Fund has financially supported this organization.
Projects We Support
Eastern NC Rural Expansion Initiative
Funding Year: 2017 – 2018
This funding will support the coalition’s pilot 0-6 month extension in Onslow and Craven Counties, 2 high need counties in rural Eastern North Carolina, impacting over 15,000 low income children and families annually— increasing the frequency of the medically based literacy intervention during this critical window for providers to influence positive and healthy behaviors in mothers and newborns.
Funding Year: 2018 – 2019
This grant will support for the expansion and extension of the Reach Out and Read (ROR) medically based literacy intervention to begin at birth, allowing us to sustain pilot programs from year one of the project, and replicate the model’s expansion in high priority Reach Out and Read programs in 5 additional rural Eastern North Carolina counties (ENC) reaching 23,300 children. These ENC counties include: Craven, Onslow, Pamlico, Robeson, Hertford, Duplin, and Warren.
Rolling back ROR to begin at birth requires new training and support for our provider and clinic network, more books to build children’s home libraries, thus additional funding. Over the course of 2018, ROR’s program team and Director of Medical Engagement will continue and strengthen partnerships with over 70+ medical volunteers at 19 medical homes in the 7-county region to reorient and ensure provider training, and quality goals are met.
Funding Year: 2019 – 2020
Reach Out and Read Carolinas (RORC) is requesting continued support for the expansion and extension of the medically based literacy intervention to begin at birth, allowing us to continue to enhance and grow ROR in 7 high priority, rural Eastern North Carolina counties where the intervention is impacting 23,500 children between birth and 5 years. Over the past two years, we have extending the intervention to begin at birth in 10/22 programs in the region. In the 3rd year of this expansion project, we have a goal of extending the intervention to begin at birth to at least 9 more programs, allowing us to reach our 3-year goal of 19/22 programs in the project region extending the intervention to birth.
Support Dates: April, 2017 – March, 2020
Organization and Project Photos
Dr. Lynn Wilson, Sterling Sharpe Pediatrics, Columbia S.C., RORC guest blogger
2018 Social Systems Leadership Interns from Converse Colleg
Presenting a Book.
Reading a Book.
