PRE News & Ideas | By Annette Weston
Published June 18, 2024 at 6:46 AM EDT
Babies born in Maynard Children’s Hospital at ECU Health Medical Center will get a box of books meant to support their early language and reading development starting this summer.
Books from Birth, a Book Harvest program, will provide a box of 10 board books, helpful reading education materials and a onesie for families who deliver babies at the hospital.
N.C. House Rep. Tim Reeder secured funding of $500,000 for the project in the North Carolina State Budget. A practicing physician, Reeder says he sees first-hand the benefits of early childhood literacy in terms of creating success in the classroom and in children’s behavior.
State data shows that 50% of the children in Pitt County are not reading at grade-level, and he says early intervention and early reading is critically important to setting children up for success.
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