What started in April as a hopeful initiative to encourage family reading and bonding, Reach Out and Read’s #ReadTogether challenge exceeded all expectations. With the help from our invaluable network, during isolating times our video project brought families nationwide together in an outpour of joy and love for shared reading!
A book is just the beginning. We remarkably received over a hundred video submissions, spanning three languages, from community leaders, doctors, opera singers, politicians, children, musicians, nurses, authors, parents and so many more. Our participants read to their children, grandchildren, and even pets! Our project truly brought to light the abundant support for Reach Out and Read’s model and the powerful developmental and bonding benefits of family reading.
Our main goals were and continue to be lifting spirits, promoting positive messages, and ultimately making children feel safe, secure, and loved by being cuddled up with a book and their caregiver. Children’s author, Peter H. Reynolds’ reading of Say Something!” received nearly 7,000 views and embodies the benefits we strived for with this initiative.
“Your voice can inspire, heal, and transform. Your voice can change the world.” -Peter H. Reynolds
The moral of the story is that as a parent or a child, “Your voice can inspire, heal, and transform. Your voice can change the world.” And that is the moral of our #ReadTogether project, that as a caregiver, your voice is your child’s world, it is comfort, it is security, it is love.
We are honored by the support, recognition, and praise our #ReadTogether project received as a way to support communities during the Pandemic. Notably, the Clinton Foundation highlighted Reach Out and Read’s #ReadTogether project as a digital volunteering opportunity to reach isolated individuals.