Dear Reach Out and Read Georgia Pediatricians and Providers,
We want to extend our sincere gratitude to all of you for your unwavering dedication and commitment to integrating books into pediatric care. Your efforts are truly invaluable in promoting early childhood development across our state.
As we move forward into the new fiscal year, our vision is to reach 50% of all children aged 5 and under by 2030 in Georgia with the Reach Out and Read intervention. While expansion is important we also want to increase program fidelity at our existing sites and ensure all sites receive beautiful new children’s books, ongoing support and resources. We believe that by focusing on financial support, technical assistance, and training, we can achieve our ambitious goals. Helping families connect over the magic of a book, growing and learning together create meaningful moments that last a lifetime. Please join us in our effort to heighten awareness with legislators across the state, local businesses, Rotary Clubs and other organizations in your community. By raising awareness about the important role pediatricians and providers play, in preparing young children for Pre K and Kindergarten readiness, while equipping families with tools and information, we will be able to engage with new partners and funders – both key to our expansion and sustainability goals.
Georgia was part of the first cohort in the country, and the second state in the Reach Out and Read network to officially begin rolling out the Building Connections Begins at Birth training! All Georgia providers are required to complete the Building Connections Begins at Birth training, which is available on myROR. This training is crucial for enhancing literacy skills in children beginning at birth through six months of age and beyond. For those who have already completed the core Reach Out and Read online version 3.0 or higher, you have automatically fulfilled the training requirement. However, early adopters, those of you who have taken an older version of training online or in person, will need to complete the new Building Connections Begins at Birth training. The training link can be found in myROR, or you can reach out to Program Managers, Kim Thomas at kim.thomas@reachoutandread.org or Karolina Klinker at karolina.klinker@reachoutandread.org for assistance with the training link. We greatly appreciate the dedication of those who have already completed this essential training and urge all providers to do so to help us meet our goal of having 100% of all providers up to date on training by January 31, 2025.
Thank you for playing a vital role in enhancing early childhood development in Georgia and helping families connect through the pages of a book. What you do matters and is making a difference. We are so thankful to each of you and our entire team is available should you have any questions, comments, suggestions or just want to touch base.
Sincerely,
Amy Erickson
Executive Director of Reach Out and Read Georgia