Raising a Reader MA Honors Jeff Bellows

Raising a Reader MA Honors Jeff Bellows of
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts at
Annual Leadership in Literacy Award Breakfast

BOSTON – Raising A Reader MA (RAR-MA) is pleased to announce Jeff Bellows of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) as the recipient of the 2015 Leadership in Literacy Award. Mr. Bellows, a supporter of the program for more than five years, was honored at a breakfast on Wednesday, November 4th at the Westin Copley Place in Boston. The Leadership in Literacy Award was created to honor and highlight inspiring business leaders who utilize their influence to change lives through literacy and learning.

“Through the support of Jeff, his team and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Raising A Reader now serves over 12,000 children and families across the state. Jeff has been instrumental in helping fund programs such as Boston’s ‘Storytimes in the Park’ and launching Raising A Reader in Springfield,” said Randy Houk, Executive Director of RAR-MA.

Mr. Bellows, the second recipient RAR-MA’s Leadership in Literacy Award, leads the corporate citizenship team at BCBSMA, helping to enhance the company’s reputation through strategic community investments, focused volunteerism, environmental sustainability and effective outreach to community organizations.

Mr. Bellows was presented the literacy award among a crowd of top Boston professionals including Boston Mayor, Martin J. Walsh. Mayor Walsh commended Bellows on his work with the organization and called Raising A Reader “one of the most impactful programs in our city.” The breakfast raised more than $125,000 to provide families across the state with the dual intervention of a rotating book program and parent educational workshops.

Raising A Reader MA is an evidence-based early literacy program that helps families of young children (newborn through age six) develop, practice, and maintain habits of reading together at home. RAR-MA’s core program model, which both increases access to books and offers support for strengthening the culture of reading at home, is driven by 25 years of research that shows the most significant factor impacting a child’s academic success is being regularly read to by a parent or other primary adult caregiver before starting kindergarten.

RAR-MA’s goal is to end the cycle of low literacy by helping families across Massachusetts develop high-impact, home reading routines that lay the groundwork for a lifetime of learning, success, and productive, responsible citizenship. To learn more about RAR-MA visit www.raisingareaderma.org.

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