We can raise funds to purchase childrens books for clinics across the state

Join our team in supporting real change. Let’s support good in the world and make a difference. Help us put more books in the hands of children and families across Illinois.

Reach Out and Read provides books and training to doctors and clinics, especially in marginalized communities. Every time a child visits their doctor from 6 months to five years, they receive a brand new book. Our latest initiative is making sure that our books are diverse, so that children can see kids just like themselves in their favorite books.

I am partnering with an amazing clinic, The Infant Welfare Society Children's Clinic! If my team raises the most money, The Infant Welfare Children's Clinic will receive a $2,000 gift certificate from All About Books, ensuring that children and families will continue to get the books they need. If we have the most donors the clinic will receive a $1,000 gift card. All our participating clinics will receive a brand new box of books.

Being a former member of the Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society, I have seen the wonderful work this clinic provides for children and their families.

A little bit about The Infant Welfare Society Children's Clinic:"We service low income families. We have no boundary restrictions; therefore, families come from all over. About 24% of families are from Chicago, 18% Berwyn, 15% Oak Park, 10% Cicero, and the rest from other suburbs or surrounding areas. Most of our families consider themselves bilingual or of Latinx background. About 54% of our patients consider themselves Hispanic, 27% African American, and 19% other.

What ROR does for the clinic and families: ROR helps promote the early adoption of literacy which is critical to a child succeeding in school. We are humbled to be a starting point for many of our patient’s start of their own book collections. Parents are always interested in hearing from the medical provider on the benefits and different options that best work for them in promoting literacy at home. It also helps children look forward to their medical appointments in knowing that they will be given a new book.

ROR is critical to The Infant Welfare Children's Clinic as many of parents struggle to find the time and resources to build at home libraries. This program is instrumental in increasing patients' exposure to books and words.

Please help if you can!

Just a small donation will go a long way to helping me meet my goal for Reach Out & Read Illinois! Let's make a difference to all our littlest learners!