It’s never too early to start collecting a library of books for children so they can begin to develop an appreciation and love for reading.
That’s why Charlotte Hungerford Hospital (CHH) and its Auxiliary are helping by participating in the “Read to Grow” program, which offers newborns and their siblings a book at birth and two additional books in their first year.
“We are so pleased to participate in the Books for Babies program at Charlotte and provide these wonderful resources for families. It has been a great success and stresses the value of reading to children at a very early age.” says Cath Pezze, President of the CHH Auxiliary.
CHH Auxiliary provides financial support for the program in addition to grant funding provided by Read to Grow, and its volunteers have delivered the most books to babies out of the 12 participating Connecticut hospitals. Five CHH volunteers including Dalia Acevedo, Helen Alling, Julie Morris, Rosalie Strano, and Pat Zimmerman have all been trained through Read to Grow and present the books and program information to our families.
There are close to 400 babies born at CHH every year.
Read to Grow is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving early literacy for children. Its “Books for Babies” program is now in 12 hospitals for families with newborns. They are also in community health centers for pregnant women. The program has grown quickly in Connecticut. More than 1.4 million books have been donated, 900,000 children have been given books, 13 partnerships with nonprofits and more than 280,000 newborn literacy packets given.
For more information on maternity services at CHH, visit us here, or call 860-496-6395.