Charlotte, N.C., June 8, 2016 – Novant Health Randolph Pediatrics has partnered with Smart Start of Mecklenburg County to offer a Reach Out & Read program at their clinic. The program provides age-appropriate books at each well visit to all children age 6 months through 5 years. Reach Out & Read puts a special emphasis on children growing up in low-income families, where children are most at risk for reading failure.
The television has been removed from the waiting room, and patients and their caretakers are encouraged to enjoy a book instead. “Reading aloud with your child is one of the most important things you can do for their development,” said Yorlette Anthony, clinic administrator at Randolph Pediatrics. “This program helps us drive home the message that literacy is equally important to a child’s development as a balanced diet.”
Rocky River High School’s junior ROTC was honored at the clinic’s Reach Out & Read launch party for a generous donation of 137 books, enough to fill the waiting room’s shelves. The clinic has created a cozy reading corner in the waiting area to give children a comfortable spot in which to sit and read. Retired Bright Beginnings teacher and longtime volunteer Gena Haywood was also honored at the event. Haywood was the clinic’s first reading volunteer – someone who volunteers to read aloud to children in the office’s waiting room.
Randolph Pediatrics, located at 6324 Fairview Road, Suite 350, in Charlotte, is Smart Start of Mecklenburg County’s fifth Reach Out & Read site. Reach Out & Read was founded in 1989 by a group of pediatricians and educators who recognized that what happens in infancy and toddlerhood truly sets the stage for achievement later in life.
For more information about the program or to make an appointment with a provider at Randolph Pediatrics, please call 704-384-8600.
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