Great Stories Awards Night 2024

You are invited to grow with us at our 6th Annual Great Stories Awards Night on Thursday evening, May 9, 2024. Reach Out and Read Illinois has grown to include over 150 clinics across the state, reaching over 160,000 children each year! We are proud to have reached so many families, but we still have more growing to do and we need your help to do it - come celebrate with us. Funds raised at this event will help Illinois' clinics thrive.

This year, we are proud to honor Dr. Denise R. Cunill, an amazing Reach Out and Reach champion and pediatrician. You can read more about her below.

With your attendance at our event you will enjoy light appetizers, beer and wine, a silent auction and raffle, as well as live music and a short awards ceremony. We hope you can join us this year!

Great Stories Award Recipient: Denise R. Cunill, MD, FAAP

Dr. Cunill is the Associate Medical Director of Ambulatory Pediatrics of Cook County Health, in addition to the lead provider at the Belmont Cragin Health Center of Cook County Health. Dr. Cunill is a general pediatrician with special interests in community medicine, including an emphasis on health disparities among the underserved in relation to social determinants and cultural differences. Dr. Cunill’s passion for advocacy stems from the pride she has in her Cuban Mexican heritage. Dr. Cunill’s practice encompasses the entire pediatric age spectrum, with a special focus on adolescents and LGBTQ+ youth.

Dr. Cunill is a graduate from the George Washington School of Medicine in D.C. She completed her general pediatric residency at Cook County Children’s Hospital (now part of Cook County Health). Dr. Cunill has dedicated her career to serving the underserved and continues to do so wholeheartedly.

Dr. Cunill learned how to read at the age of 7. She shares this piece of her life with the families she serves when providing books during well-child visits. Dr. Cunill often adds that her father was a Cuban refugee who did not read but shared with her his love for math on a daily basis. Dr. Cunill’s mother (1^st generation Mexican American) also did not read much due to learning disabilities but instilled a drive and persistence in self-pride of culture and heritage. This love for self and family inspired “little Denisita” to cultivate a resilience which opened her life to not only learn how to read in 1^st grade but to become a pediatrician who serves other brown, black, and rainbow-colored children.

We are thrilled to honor Dr. Cunill this year and hope you can join us in celebrating her and Reach Out and Read Illinois!

If you don't see a ticket or sponsorship opportunity that is right for you - please email Cindy Ogrin, cogrin@illinoisaap.com

Are you a Reach Out and Read Illinois (ROR IL) site support leader?

ROR IL is hosting a FREE Site Support Meeting before the fundraiser. Click here to register.