Project Creating Readers Infancy and Beyond recently adopted a parent and community awareness initiative called Read Aloud 15 Minutes. The initiative encourages the public to imagine what education in the United States would look like if every parent read aloud to their child for 15 minutes per day.
The program’s goal is to have every child being read aloud to by a parent or loved one for 15 minutes every day starting at birth.
Project CRIB partners with New River Valley Pediatrics to provide children’s books for their Reach Out and Read literacy effort. It also shares information with Carilion New River Valley Baby Basics Moms Club meetings about the importance of reading aloud from birth and gifts parents with a new book. The project also supports and stocks three Little Free Libraries in the Radford Community.
The decade-long Read Aloud 15 Minute movement will be a massive public awareness effort, spearheaded by partners in Radford and throughout the nation that will rally grassroots support through local awareness efforts and community outreach.
“We want to see reading aloud every day for 15 minutes become one of the essential routines of childcare, as normal as daily tooth-brushing,” says Read Aloud co-founder Dr. Candace Kendle.
“Together, we will help more children begin kindergarten ready to learn.”
— Submitted by Gloria Boyd