National Center Updates Reach Out and Read at the 2009 PAS Conference In light of the current fiscal environment, ROR National Center has decided to cancel the 2009 ROR Annual Conference. The Conference typically occurs in conjunction with the Pediatric Academic Societies’ (PAS) Annual Meeting and includes our Conference in addition to an Early Literacy Special Interest Group (SIG) at the PAS meeting. ROR still plans to hold the Early Literacy SIG at PAS, and interested Medical Providers are encouraged to attend. The SIG is scheduled for Saturday May 2 from 8 - 11 am, and the SIG’s featured speaker is Grover Whitehurst, Ph.D., whose work on dialogic reading established a causal connection between reading aloud and vocabulary development. ROR Storms Capitol Hill On March 5th, over 80 Reach Out and Read supporters from across the country headed to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to advocate for increased funding and support from the federal government. This was our largest turnout in six years of Hill Day meetings--by the end of the day, more than 300 visits had taken place with Senators, Representatives, and staff members – a record high! The ROR Government Affairs team, ROR Regions and Coalitions, and dedicated Site Providers and Coordinators continue to work together with elected officials to ensure that ROR receives necessary support and recognition. ROR-Military Expands to 30 Military Bases Worldwide After Reach Out and Read in the Military’s rapid expansion over the last few months, 30 U.S. military bases around the world are now practicing ROR. As a result, ROR is now serving approximately 90,000 children of military families each year. The 20 newest Sites were activated this Fall under the Department of Defense (DoD) Pilot Project, which was funded through the Defense Authorization Act of 2006, and jointly administered with our partner and contractor, Strategic Resources, Inc. Since the kickoff of the Pilot Project in October 2008, ROR has activated 20 new ROR Sites on U.S. military bases worldwide. To date, we have conducted Medical Provider Training at all of the Sites, and medical providers at these Sites have already begun to see the benefits of incorporating a book into the well-child visit. Many of the Sites have expressed their gratitude for the ROR program and are excited and grateful to be able to expand their support to military families. Thank you to the ROR Coalitions for their great efforts to get these Sites up and running in record time! A special thank you to ROR-Texas, ROR-Alabama, ROR-Washington, and ROR-South Carolina staff for the extra support they provided to Military Sites. The ROR National Center is focused on efforts to ensure sustainability of the DoD Pilot Project, with the ultimate goal of a DoD-wide ROR program so that all children of military families benefit from the ROR model. The ROR National Center is also continuing efforts to build corporate and foundation partnerships for ROR in the Military. As a result of these efforts, and courtesy of a generous gift from the American Legion, the nine Military Sites that had implemented ROR prior to the DoD project received Sustainability this fall for the first time! Our goal is to continue to provide a portion of Sustainability to all Military Sites in the future.   Return