I recently acquired an internship with the most fabulous organization, Reach Out and Read Carolinas, a sector of the Reach Out and Read program. With groups in almost every state, their impact seems to be growing every day. I had personally never heard of this certain organization until I applied for an internship, the first internship group in any program across the country. Once I read up on their mission and ideals, I was hooked into finding a way to getting myself involved with their program.

Reach Out and Read is a national program focused on children and literacy. Serving almost 4.5 million families annually, their goal is reach at risk children through the pediatricians' offices and establishing their literacy profile by assessing their reading levels and providing them a book. The program began in Boston in 1989 and since has grown to all 50 states. Reach Out and Read is serving 1 in 5 children who live in poverty and with their growing numbers hope to be serving all children affected in the coming years. By opening up this dialog between doctors and the parents, it is giving children, who may be behind in reading, the proper base to build and be prepared to be in the classroom.

I think I feel so passionately about this work because I always had someone there to read to me and interact with me but not all children have that. Through this program, children and their parents are given the tools to build language and a relationship. If I could be a part of encouraging that kind of progress, I would have done something useful with my time. The passion behind the scenes is there and I hope I can add something to that with my new position this coming spring.