The East Meadow Chamber of Commerce announces its “Walk, Ride, Read for Success” – a fun event for the entire family to support the launch of the Reach Out and Read program in the pediatric clinic at Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC).
“Walk, Ride, Read for Success” takes place May 18th, 1-4 p.m., at Field 1, Eisenhower Park, East Meadow (rain or shine, no rain date).
“Chamber members want to make all of our community's citizens successful in life,” says Steve Haller, president of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce. “What better place to start than with our kids? And what better partners in helping this NUMC's Reach Out and Read program get off the ground than our neighbors?”
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Participants in “Walk, Ride, Read for Success” will walk or ride their way around the park's three-mile paved circuit (no motorized conveyances other than wheelchairs will be allowed). There will be educational and fun stops along the way. The goal is for the community to have a healthy, fun time while supporting Reach Out and Read, an important new initiative in East Meadow for the benefit of children. Entry fees – $20 for adults, $7 for children 12 and under – will be tax deductible. Every participant will receive an event T-shirt.
Reach Out and Read is a program in which doctors give new, developmentally appropriate books to young children three-months through five years of age, along with guidance to their parents about early literacy, early learning, development and school readiness. It is known that the first five years of life offer a critical window to learning, with rapid brain development that does not occur at any other time. Children who begin their school years without basic language skills start behind and often stay behind their classmates. Reach Out and Read is an “evidence-based program” proven to increase reading, improve language development and school success.
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“A pediatrician began Reach Out and Read and hospitals, clinics and doctors across the country have seen its value and embraced it,” says Dr. Dina Joy Lieser, M.D., director of Community Pediatrics at NUMC. “At NUMC, we serve over several thousand children under the age of six. We have found that many of the families we serve do not have books at home and are excited to learn that reading to babies is an important and effective strategy to give their children an opportunity for a bright, successful and healthy future.”
Entry forms and details about the event will be available from all East Meadow Chamber of Commerce businesses, at East Meadow schools and on the Chamber of Commerce web site: www.eastmeadowchamber.com.
The East Meadow Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to making the East Meadow community ideal for commerce and doing everything we can to do our part in enhancing quality of life in the neighborhood.
