Raising A Reader MA is a non-profit organization launched in 2006 as a GreenLight Fund initiative beginning in Chelsea, Massachusetts

Chelsea, Massachusetts

Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. It is the smallest city in Massachusetts in land area, and the 26th most densely populated incorporated place in the country.-History:...

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In order to combat the crisis in early literacy, Raising A Reader MA works with a variety of early childhood partners to provide children's books and formalized read-aloud training to targeted communities. The program now has over 32,000 children’s books in circulation and reaches just over 8,000 young children ages 0–5 and their families in the Greater Boston area, the City of Boston, and Lawrence.

The Model

Raising A Reader MA provides training for parents and teachers as well as a read-aloud DVD focused on dialogic reading. Also, each partner organization is provided with bright red bags filled with award-winning children's books to rotate into the homes of families. Every week, children take home a book bag with a new selection of age-appropriate books, which are then rotated throughout the year.

Current Campaigns

Raising A Reader MA received a multi-year grant from Strategic Grant Partners to bring the program outside of the Greater Boston area beginning in 2008. Raising A Reader MA's goal is to reach approximately 12,000 young children and their families throughout Massachusetts by 2011.

External links

• Raising A Reader MA home page
• Video for Raising A Reader MA, featuring Kevin Youkilis