Saddleback Publishing Partners with CHOC Children's to Immunize Kids Against Illiteracy Donating More Than 10,000 Books to Their "Reach Out and Read" Program

Saddleback Publishing is a great company doing great things in their community and for struggling, delayed and at-risk readers in classrooms nationwide. Check out this announcement of their latest partnership to get kids reading!!

 

 

Committed to supporting struggling and delayed readers at every stage in their development, Costa Mesa-based Saddleback Publishing has partnered with CHOC Children’s to “immunize” children in Orange County against illiteracy through their donation of over 10,000 books to the CHOC- sponsored “Reach Out and Read” Program. “Reach Out and Read” promotes early literacy and school readiness with a research-tested, evidence-based model that is proven to help children develop the language skills they will need to learn to read and succeed in school.

"The team at Saddleback is extremely excited to donate books to our friends at CHOC in support of such an effective and worthwhile program such as ‘Reach Out and Read’,” says Arianne McHugh, President of Saddleback Publishing.  “Literacy is a crisis across the U.S. and we are committed to doing everything we can to get the books and tools into the hands of children who need them to help them succeed.”

"We are so pleased to have a local partner assist us in providing books to children in need," says pediatrician and leader of CHOC’s “Reach Out and Read” program, Dr. Mark Colon. "As statistics have shown, the earlier we can get children reading, and more importantly kids and parents reading together, the better chance we have of making a lifetime reader out of that child." 

CHOC’s “Reach Out and Read” program is designed to put books into the hands of underprivileged children during their wellness visits at CHOC clinics across Orange County.  Due to their wide range of titles and resources, Saddleback’s donation of books has allowed Dr. Colon and his staff to not only provide books to early readers, but also to create opportunities for conversation with tween and teen patients about such topics as drugs, gangs, sexual activity and orientation and many other relevant topics addressed in Saddleback’s award-winning urban fiction collections.

ABOUT REACH OUT AND READ
Reach Out and Read is an evidence-based nonprofit organization that promotes early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by providing pediatricians new books to distribute children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud.

Reach Out and Read builds on the unique relationship between parents and medical providers to develop critical early reading skills in children, beginning at 6 months of age. The more than 4 million families served annually by Reach Out and Read read together more often, and their children enter kindergarten better prepared to succeed, with larger vocabularies, stronger language skills, and a six-month developmental edge over their peers.

ABOUT SADDLEBACK EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING
Saddleback Educational Publishing, a second-generation family company and certified woman-owned business, kicks off its 30th anniversary with nineteen YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers Awards (2011-2012) for its high interest, low reading-level series, Urban Underground. Saddleback was also recently awarded their first Silver Medal for their Urban Fiction title, Unchained, from the Independent Publishers Book Awards, their latest series Lockwood Lions was also a finalist. With their award-winning urban fiction, adapted low-level classics, graphic novels, audio books and SMART Board Lessons for the Classroom, Saddleback continues to lead the secondary education market with innovative ways to reach reluctant learners.  www.sdlback.com


ABOUT CHOC Children’s
Named one of the best children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report (2012-2013) and a 2011 Leapfrog Top Hospital, CHOC Children's is exclusively committed to the health and well-being of children through clinical expertise, advocacy, outreach and research that brings advanced treatment to pediatric patients. Affiliated with the University of California, Irvine, CHOC’s regional healthcare network includes two state-of-the-art hospitals in Orange and Mission Viejo, several primary and specialty care clinics, a pediatric residency program, and four centers of excellence - The CHOC Children’s Heart, Neuroscience, Orthopaedic and Hyundai Cancer Institutes.