Mid-Atlantic & CAROLINAS Region

Every visit.
Every child
.

This is how communities across the region build futures.

Reach Out and Read creates powerful support for families through everyday moments. Our unique model amplifies literacy and connection through trusted medical providers, helping families build the language-rich relationships that set children on a path toward lifelong learning, health, and success.

Family reading a book with a doctor
Family reading a book with a doctor

JUMP TO

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4 states + D.C.

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Since 1996, we've operated across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C., connecting with families at their medical clinic from their very first well-child visit.

Line art illustration of a person sitting at a table reading a book with a beverage, depicted with simple outlines and a pink background.

CONNECTION starts early

Trained providers use a book at every well-child visit from birth to age five to guide parents on making reading a daily habit, and families take the book home to keep.

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Backed by science

More than 20 peer-reviewed studies confirm that our model meaningfully improves language development, increases time families spend together with books, and positively impacts school readiness.

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The evidence

Built on science.
Backed by results.

Reach Out and Read is one of the most rigorously studied early childhood interventions in the country and the only literacy model endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Researchers have confirmed, again and again, that our model works — for children, for parents, and for the clinics that serve them.

Our two-generational approach places books in children's hands and guidance in caregivers' hearts at the exact moment they're most open to it: the well-child visit.

2.5×

Parents are more likely to read with their infant, toddler, or preschooler daily after participating in Reach Out and Read

3-6 Mo

Improvement in language development for children who participate regularly in the program

20+

Independent, peer-reviewed studies confirm the effectiveness of the Reach Out and Read model

2x

More likely to read with children three or more times per week, building lasting literacy habits

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Reach Out and Read

North
Carolina

Reach Out and Read North Carolina is transforming routine well-child visits into opportunities for connection, learning, and strengthened relationships across the state. Through partnership with thousands of medical providers, we are helping families foster positive childhood experiences through moments of shared reading to build brighter futures, one visit at a time.


436,421+

children served

414+

clinics statewide

3,185+

providers trained


A woman holding a baby girl in her arms during a visit to the hospital, with the woman wearing a blue shirt and the baby dressed in a pink and white floral outfit with a matching pink headband.

NC

Reach Out and Read

Reach Out and Read South Carolina is helping connect families, healthcare providers, and communities around a shared goal: giving children the strongest possible start in life. Through our unique model, books and support become part of routine pediatric care, helping families foster early learning, strengthen relationships, and support healthy development from the very beginning in every county in the state.

SOUTH
Carolina

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182,075+

children served

228+

clinics statewide

1,332+

providers trained


SC

A man and a young girl sitting together, both reading a colorful children's book about transportation, with the man wearing a red T-shirt and the girl wearing a red Avengers T-shirt.

Virginia

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Reach Out and Read

Reach Out and Read Virginia partners with medical providers across the Commonwealth to support children during the years that matter most. By integrating books and literacy support into routine well-child visits, we're helping families nurture relationships and a love of reading while building foundations for lifelong learning, health, and success.


175,988+

children served

119+

clinics statewide

1,226+

providers trained


VA

A woman holding a newborn baby in a medical office. A healthcare professional with a stethoscope on her neck is smiling and talking to the woman. Posters and informational materials are on the wall.

Reach Out and Read Maryland works alongside healthcare providers to make early literacy and relationships a meaningful part of pediatric primary care. Our unique model helps families strengthen language-rich relationships, creating opportunities for learning, connection, and healthy development from the very start.

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Reach Out and Read

Maryland


79,351+

children served

66

clinics statewide

353+

providers trained


MD

A young girl with a big blue bow headband smiling and laughing during a medical exam, held by a woman with glasses and tattoos, while another woman showing her a card.

Reach Out and Read Washington, DC helps families and medical providers come together around the power of shared reading. By bringing books and literacy support into medical clinics, we're helping children build the skills, relationships, and confidence to thrive.

District of

Columbia

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Reach Out and Read


26,500+

children served

23

clinics across the area

159+

providers trained


DC

A young boy with glasses being held by a woman, smiling, while another woman in a maroon uniform holds a children's book and looks at the boy, inside a room with blue walls.

Get in touch

Whether you're a healthcare provider looking to bring Reach Out and Read to your clinic, a family searching for a participating site, or a supporter with questions.

Connect with
a local team

To explore the full national organization, visit reachoutandread.org

This is a regional program of Reach Out and Read, a national 501(c)3 nonprofit. For the full program, research library, and additional resources, visit the national site.