Read to Them's Mission
In 2003, Read Aloud organizations from five states came together as the core group to form Read to Them (originally incorporated as Read Aloud International). Since the first statewide Read Aloud program was founded in Delaware over 20 years ago, similar organizations have been established on local and state levels around the United States. The directors of five such organizations in Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, Nebraska and Hawaii gathered under the leadership of educational psychologist Gary Anderson to pursue an ambitious vision: to make reading aloud to children a regular practice in every home, school, and childcare facility in America.
The board of directors was immediately expanded to include representatives from the education, business, advertising and financial community.
Over the last three years, our multi-disciplined and talented board has considered closely the issue of literacy, reviewed the research and studied the programs of many literacy organizations across the country. The clear conviction emerged that an enormous gap in the public understanding of literacy is perpetuating a focus on remedial “fix it” programs for illiteracy rather than on the simple, research-based strategy of reading aloud to children as the most effective preparation for literacy – serving, in a sense, as “illiteracy prevention.”
Having completed a strategic planning process and established a creative partnership with the prestigious Martin Agency, we are poised to promote the message “Read to Them” and make reading to children a national priority. Our first initiative, a print ad campaign in Delaware and Nebraska, will serve as a pilot project for other locations. The executive directors of Read Aloud Delaware and Read Aloud Nebraska serve on our board of directors and lead established programs that provide books for home libraries, train teachers and parents, and hold events that celebrate the lifelong benefits – for both children and adults – of reading aloud.