| R 138 |
| 2026 -- H 8222 Enacted 03/03/2026 |
| H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N |
| RECOGNIZING "REACH OUT AND READ RHODE ISLAND DAY" ON MARCH 3, 2026 IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND |
Introduced By: Representatives Caldwell, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Chippendale, Kennedy, Ajello, Shallcross Smith, Fellela, Diaz, and Fogarty |
| Date Introduced: March 03, 2026 |
| WHEREAS, Reach Out and Read Rhode Island is a local, nonprofit organization |
| dedicated to building a world where every child is read to every day by supporting families with |
| young children through the power of shared reading and early literacy; and |
| WHEREAS, The organization partners with pediatricians and family medicine providers |
| across Rhode Island to encourage families to read aloud every day starting at birth as a way to |
| build early literacy skills, strengthen family bonds and empower parents to be their child's first |
| and most important teacher; and |
| WHEREAS, Families participating in the Reach Out and Read RI program receive |
| developmentally appropriate, new books at no cost during well-child visits from birth through age |
| five, helping to build home libraries and spark early developmental, language, and emotional |
| skills; and |
| WHEREAS, Reading aloud with young children not only promotes language acquisition |
| and cognitive development but also strengthens parent-child bonds and supports healthier brain |
| growth during the critical early years of life; and |
| WHEREAS, Reach Out and Read RI has served Rhode Island since 1999, currently |
| partnering with nearly 70 medical sites statewide and a network of over 400 medical clinicians, |
| providing books and literacy guidance at more than 100,000 well-child visits last year alone and |
| serving 50,000 children; and |
| WHEREAS, Recognizing and celebrating Reach Out and Read RI Day on March 3 raises |
| public awareness of the importance of early childhood literacy, encourages community support |
| for family reading, and honors the dedicated pediatric partners and volunteers who serve Rhode |
| Island’s children; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby |
| commemorates March 3, 2026, as "Reach Out and Read Rhode Island Day" in the State of Rhode |
| Island in recognition of the vital role that early literacy, family reading, and community |
| engagement play in the healthy development and lifelong success of Rhode Island’s youngest |
| residents; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Aimee Falso, Executive Director of Reach Out |
| and Read RI. |
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| LC005892 |
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