Dear Friends,

We need your help! You understand the importance of Reach Out and Read to the well-being of children across the state. Please contact your legislators to urge their support for $600,000 in funding in the state budget.

Simply put, if we want Reach Out and Read to continue as a proven statewide strategy to improve equity and assure kindergarten readiness for over 105,000 young children and families across the state, then we need more state investment. If the lowest of the current budget proposals becomes final (which is what will happen with no action by legislators), there will be severe cuts in services, and the undermining of even a basic statewide infrastructure. Funding will automatically revert to the level it was when the program served only 30,000 children!

This matters because Reach Out and Read is a vital part of our state's educational system, serving more children and families than any other early learning program in the state. Children who start kindergarten behind rarely catch up, and brain development is most rapid in the first 3 years of life. From birth, language-rich "back and forth" interactions between parent and child are critical for optimal development. What happens at home in great part determines a child's future. Reach Out and Read supports parents as their child's first teacher, and improves the early language and literacy skills young children need to be ready for school.

There is good news, however! There is widespread enthusiasm for Reach Out and Read. Doctors, families, and communities love it, and there has always been bipartisan support from legislators for this inexpensive and effective program. The main problem is that Reach Out and Read gets lost in the fray of everything else happening in Olympia. And right now, being forgotten is very dangerous. Please take 5 minutes to ask legislators to fund Reach Out and Read at $600,000.

This tiny state investment of less than $3 per child per year provides a critical foundation for this statewide network for families. Its return on investment is immediate--leveraging the incredible contributions of 212 medical practices, private funders, and countless community partners. See some great examples below in GiveBig and The Elliott Bay Book Company. Please remind legislators that supporting parents and very young children is a critical, proven, and cost-effective strategy that must be paired with preschool and K-12 investments to improve equity and educational outcomes across Washington.

Thank you for acting now!