Georgia - Reach Out and Read

Reach Out and Read Georgia

Each and every gift, no matter the amount, will help set a child up for success – in school and in life in Georgia.

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Investing in Impact.

With 203 medical program sites at hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices across Georgia, we provide more than 178,351 young children and their families in 78 counties with free children’s books and resources that promote early childhood literacy.

Our evidence-based model is backed by a large and growing body of academic research. We utilize the existing medical infrastructure, to encourage supportive, educational conversations with parents on the importance of reading aloud and the impact on children’s brain development.

Our Program

Reach Out and Read Georgia gives young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together.

> See Our Program

178,351
children served annually

203
program sites

233,000
books distributed annually

More than 200,000 children under the age of 5 lives in poverty in Georgia.

Give the gift of reading aloud to a child in need.

Donate

Supporting Georgia Families

Life at times may present its challenges, yet our communities, nation, and the world stand resilient. We’ve compiled a list of local resources for Georgia families in hopes of navigating parenting with a bit more ease.

Parenting During a Pandemic

Resources for Families

THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS

We are deeply grateful for the unwavering support of a vast network of compassionate pediatricians, dedicated residents, and committed medical providers across the state of Georgia. These professionals generously invest their time, talents, and expertise to make a lasting impact on the lives of children residing in low-income communities.

Our collaborative efforts with these trusted healthcare practitioners extend beyond the clinic walls. Through well-child visits, these professionals integrate literacy promotion into routine pediatric care, fostering a love for reading from an early age. By incorporating age-appropriate book gifting and guidance on shared reading practices, they play a pivotal role in preparing children for success, not just in school but throughout their lives.

Without the generosity of hundreds of donors, volunteers, foundations and corporate support we would not be able to deliver our intervention. We are so thankful to all who champion and invest in the mission of Reach Out and Read.

Foundation Support

Aetna

Anthem / Elevance

American Academy of Pediatrics, Georgia Chapter

Atlanta Braves Foundation

Atlanta Speedway Foundation

Bobbie Bailey Foundation

CareSource Georgia

Francis Hollis Brain Foundation Fund

Georgia DECA

Greater Valdosta United Way

James Hyde Porter Charitable Trust

Jesse Parker Williams Foundation

John and Mary Franklin Foundation

Louis Calder Foundation

Luluma Foundation

Pediatric Center for Wellness

Pi Beta Phi Foundation

Pitney Bowes

Primerica

Scott Hudgens Family Foundation

St. Ives Charity Guild

St. Simons Island Literary Guild

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

The Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area

The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

The Community Foundation of Northeast Georgia

The Goizueta Foundation

The James Hyde Porter Charitable Trust Foundation

The James M. Cox Foundation

The Imlay Foundation

The Macy’s Foundation

The United Way of Greater Atlanta

The Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation

The Richard C. Munroe Foundation

The United Way of Hall County

The United Way of Northeast Georgia

The Zeist Foundation

Walmart Foundation

Women in Philanthropy

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Government Support

State Government Support

Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS)

Georgia Department of Public Health

Georgia State Charitable Giving Campaign
County Government Support

Cobb County ARPA

DeKalb County Government

Fulton County “Funding provided in part by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Department of Community Development CSP Program”

Fulton County ARPA

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Corporate Support

Children’s Hospital of Georgia

Conyers’s Pediatrics

Intown Pediatrics

Kaiser Permanente Georgia

Morehouse Pediatrics

Miss Georgia Scholarship Competition

Milestone Pediatrics

NCR Corporation

Northpoint Community Church

Old Fourth Ward Pediatrics

Pediatric Associates of Lawrenceville

Primerica

Pitney Bowes

Primrose Schools

Publix Super Markets Charities

Rivertown Pediatrics

Southern Pediatrics Clinic

Tanner Pediatrics

Upson Regional Medical Center

White Pediatrics

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Individual Support

Individual Support $500+

Audrey Morgan

Andrew Godfrey-Kittle

Betsy Root

Bo Lee

Cami Nail

Claire Wilkiemeyer, MD, FAAP

Dan King

Erik Heiss

Jay Berkelhamer, MD, FAAP

John Upchurch

Jonathan Goodin

Karen Hirsch

Kereese Gayle-Farias, MD, FAAP

Lauren King, MD, FAAP

Lisa Nolan

Lynn Floum

Marguerite Watanabe

Rob Planter, MD, FAAP

Staci Vickers

Terri McFadden, MD, FAAP

Virginia Cochran
Individual Support $25,000+

Stephanie Blank

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In-Kind Donations

All About Books

Barnes and Noble (Mansell, Perimeter, The Avenue Forsyth, Shoppes at River Crossing, The Avenue West Cobb, Riverbend Market, Augusta, Southlake Morrow)

Books A Million (Brunswick, Canton, Dalton, Gainesville, McDonough)

Books for Keeps

Books Warehouse

Collective Goods

DeKalb Summer Reading Club led by the DeKalb Junior League

First Book

Pi Beta Phi (First Book donation)

Mayor’s Summer Reading Club led by GEEARS

Reading is Fundamental

Scholastic

Workman Publishing

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Strategic Partnerships

Books for Keeps

Brain Trust 4 Babies

Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning

Black Child Development Institute Atlanta (BCDI)

Building Babies’ Brains

Cobb County Schools

Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

Child Well-Being led by the United Way of Greater

Georgia Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics

Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS)

Georgia Public Library System

Get Georgia Reading Campaign

Georgia Coalition for English Language Learners

International WeLuvU Foundation

Junior League of Atlanta

Learn4Life

Mayor’s Summer Reading Club

Partners for Equity in Child and Adolescent Health Emory School of Medicine

Read With Malcolm

Resilient Georgia

Science for Georgia

Talk With Me Baby Campaign

The Annie E. Casey Foundation

The Atlanta Speech School

The Georgia Academy of Family Physicians

Young Men’s Service League, Centennial Chapter

Voices for Georgia’s Children

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Georgia’s ‘Godmother of Literacy’ on a mission to boost pediatric health through books

February 20, 2025

(WABE News) Dr. Terri McFadden says it’s never too early to encourage children to read. She wants parents to not only read to their children, but to also sing and talk to them as well. McFadden is a pediatrician at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding and a professor of pediatrics at Emory University. She […]

> Read this story

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Georgia’s Executive Director, Amy Erickson provides local leadership and sets strategic priorities for all aspects of our program. Erickson focuses on cultivating key strategic and funding partnerships as well as providing direction to our dynamic and growing programmatic and development team.

Georgia’s Medical Director, Dr. Terri McFadden provides further direction to the program and advocates about the importance of fostering a love of reading in the existing healthcare infrastructure thus bridging the intersection between health and education.

Our dedicated Program Director and Managers provide technical support to our partner medical sites across the state to ensure fidelity to the model.

Our impact is significant and only made possible through our partnerships with over 1,400 pediatricians, providers, and medical staff across the state who implement our early school readiness and brain development intervention voluntarily to the children and families under their care.