Unsung Hero of ROR Kerry Stevenson, Security Officer, MGH Revere Ten years ago, Kerry Stevenson showed up for his first day of work as a security officer at MGH (Massachusetts General Hospital) Revere HealthCare Center. As he walked through MGH Revere on his rounds, he noticed that there was no reading material anywhere-just empty magazine racks and empty bookshelves in the Pediatrics waiting room.   So Kerry went up into his attic at home and found a few boxes of children's books that his kids had outgrown. He began to bring the books in to work, stacking the shelves in the waiting room every morning, so that children at MGH Revere would always have a selection of books to read or take home. The books flew off the shelves and into the arms of children, and Kerry's supply quickly ran out. So he began frequenting garage sales and church sales, where he could buy used books in bulk for 10 or 20 cents each. When MGH Revere became a Reach Out and Read Site in 1999, we were delighted to find out that it already had a "literacy-rich waiting room," courtesy of Kerry! Without fail, every morning he restocks the bookshelves for children, and he even keeps a cart outside his office full of free books for adults. Kerry says that his "undercover" operation at MGH Revere is easily the most rewarding part of his job. "It's such a great feeling when I'm on my rounds and I see a parent reading to a child…and it's one of the books I brought," he said. So thank you to a great unsung hero of ROR, Kerry Stevenson, for helping to make reading a part of a healthy childhood.   Return