"The smallest act of kindness is worth more than
the grandest intention." Oscar Wilde
Jessica Rodriguez's two-year-old already has a favorite book, We Are a Family, by Patricia Hegarty; they received the book from Read to Grow this fall after placing a family book request online. Expecting her fourth child in January, Jessica was laid off from her job because of COVID. The books she receives from Read to Grow give her ways to engage her daughter while her two older children attend school remotely and ensure that her little one is ready for school when the time comes.

Jessica learned about Read to Grow when she gave birth to her son at St. Francis Hospital six years ago. She received our Welcome to the World! book and a visit from a hospital volunteer, who encouraged her to read to her baby every day. Jessica received more books from Read to Grow each time her babies turned three months and one year.
Rodriguez's children show off their new books
(Photo J. Rodriguez)
Preschooler adores the book he chose at a meal distribution site (Photo L. Noe)
Jessica didn't realize she could request more books from Read to Grow until she attended a book bag giveaway at Sheldon Oak, an affordable housing non-profit in Hartford. Jessica met Kathleen Rodgers that day and learned that Kathleen requests several thousand books each year from Read to Grow on behalf of Sheldon Oak. The sight of Kathleen pulling up to the Read to Grow warehouse to pack her car full of books is not uncommon.

Over the past 20 years, Read to Grow has worked with hospitals, schools, daycares, diaper banks and hundreds of other community organizations to distribute over 2.2 million books to children across Connecticut. In response to COVID, we have given out over 61,000 books since March at meal distribution sites around the state. We know that access to books is at the heart of language acquisition and language acquisition is one of the most important factors in determining long-term school success.
  • Your support today means we can continue to ensure diverse, high quality, developmentally appropriate books get into the hands of children who need them most. Please consider giving what you can so that children like Jessica's are prepared to be successful in a world with many challenges.
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Branford, CT 06405

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