One million is a pretty powerful number. The idea that we can help one million people in need may seem like an overwhelming and unattainable goal. But this summer, Reach Out and Read demonstrated that when thousands of committed volunteers join together, they can do exactly that.

The nationwide school readiness initiative Reach Out and Read kicked off the summer in June by announcing its goal of distributing one million books to children nationwide before Labor Day. On Friday, August 27, more than one week before the deadline, the Corporation for National and Community Service CEO Patrick Corvington joined Reach Out and Read CEO Earl Martin Phalen to hand out the one millionth book, “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” to a child at the Tulane Pediatric Clinic at the Covenant House, a homeless shelter in New Orleans, LA as part of Reach Out and Read’s Summer of a Million Books.

Reach Out and Read developed the Summer of a Million Books in conjunction with the United We Serve: Let’s Read. Let’s Move. initiative, which aims to promote community service and combat illiteracy and childhood obesity. Reach Out and Read is a national partner of Let’s Read. Let’s Move., an Administration-wide effort led by First Lady Michelle Obama, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and five federal agencies.

“United We Serve and Reach Out and Read provide a powerful example of using service as a solution to address childhood illiteracy,” said Corporation CEO Patrick Corvington. “The Summer of a Million Books campaign is proof positive of the problems we can tackle when we come together and focus efforts toward real, measurable results.”

“This is an incredible achievement for Reach Out and Read’s 30,000 doctors, nurses, and volunteers nationwide,” said Earl Martin Phalen, Chief Executive Officer of Reach Out and Read. “Together, they have helped to put one million more children on the path to school success by providing parents with the guidance and the tools they need. We stand united in the dream that one day, every child in America will benefit from the Reach Out and Read program.”

Reach Out and Read targets children who are at greatest risk for school failure and illiteracy, and provides them with high quality children’s books and their parents with reading tips and guidance on the importance of reading aloud. Fourteen research studies confirm that Reach Out and Read works – families served by the program read together more often, and their children enter kindergarten better prepared to succeed, with larger vocabularies, stronger language skills, and a six-month developmental age over their peers.

The key to Reach Out and Read’s success is the messenger: pediatricians and family physicians. Participating doctors and nurse practitioners incorporate the Reach Out and Read model into every regular checkup for children between 6 months of age and the time they enter kindergarten. Because 96% of U.S. children see their doctor at least once a year and because of the trust that parents have in their child’s doctor, the pediatric checkup is the ideal opportunity to promote early literacy and school readiness. Last year, Reach Out and Read’s 26,500 participating medical providers served 3.9 million children and families at 4,500 hospitals, clinics, and pediatric practices nationwide.

At the event, Phalen also announced that Scholastic Book Clubs would donate an additional 500,000 children’s books to Reach Out and Read through the ClassroomsCare program, in honor of the Summer of a Million Books campaign. ClassroomsCare is a philanthropy-based literacy program that teaches schoolchildren the joy of reading and giving.

“We are absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity of Scholastic Inc. CEO Dick Robinson, Scholastic Books Clubs, and the hundreds of thousands of children nationwide who participate in ClassroomsCare,” said Phalen. “These students are helping to ensure that every child in America grows up with books and parents who understand the transformational power of reading aloud.”

Carolyn Merrified is the Communications Director for Reach Out and Read.

One Hen, Inc. is an innovative organization that helps children to become global citizens by equipping teachers with interactive resources that teach elementary school children about world issues and how they can make a difference. This summer, One Hen is teaming up with United We Serve: Let’s Read. Let’s Move to encourage summer reading and take on the problem of access to healthy and affordable food!
 

The key to stopping summer learning loss is reading. If a child reads a minimum of five books between June and August, [he] will be on track for success next school year. We need every child to read at least five books this summer and every adult to help,” Secretary Arne Duncan noted earlier this summer at the launch of the U.S. Department of Education’s “Lets Read. Let’s Move.” enrichment series. Today, five special guests demonstrated the importance of literacy and how simple it can be to meet Secretary Duncan’s challenge by reading five books to local children on the Department’s outdoor plaza
 

When a youth sports coach says ‘run’, kids run. That’s because kids respect and listen to their coaches. That led us to a simple idea: when a coach says read, youth will do just that this summer.
 

This summer, the President and First Lady launched United We Serve: Let’s Read, Let’s Move – a national call to use service as a tool to promote physical activity, healthy eating and to prevent the loss of academic learning during the summer months. This call to service encourages Americans to help fight something called the “summer reading gap” - where kids who don’t read during the summer can lose months of educational progress. And in her remarks, the First Lady emphasized the need for collaboration to make this summer a success:
 

Mrs. Marian Robinson, mother of First Lady Michelle Obama, and over 100 local students from Columbia Heights Youth Club’s Reading is Fundamental (RIF) program, the Alexandria Happy Home Child Learning Center and the D.C. Bilingual Public Charter School joined Secretary Arne Duncan at the Department of Education for the fourth installment of the Department’s “Let’s Read. Let’s Move.” summer enrichment series.
 

On Friday, U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney (2nd District – Connecticut) stopped by to visit a program that is carrying out the mission and goals of United We Serve Let’s Read. Let’s Move. Camp Rotary is a five-week summer program for middle school students in New London, Connecticut. The camp is made possible by a unique partnership between the Connecticut College Office of Volunteers for Community Service, New London Public Schools, the Rotary Club of New London, and the Corporation for National and Community Service.
 

For parents looking to ensure that their children don’t start the school year behind the rest of the class, heading to the pediatrician may not be the obvious solution that comes to mind. But Reach Out and Read hopes to change that.
 

Washington Redskin and education activist Chris Draft and 100 local students from Wheaton Woods Elementary School and Columbia Heights Youth Club joined Secretary Arne Duncan at the Department of Education (ED) for the third installment of ED’s “Let’s Read. Let’s Move.” summer enrichment series.
 

United We Serve: Let’s Read. Let’s Move is working with Reach Out and Read to alleviate this problem. Reach Out and Read, the nationwide school readiness program, today launched a bold new campaign to give brand-new, age-appropriate books to one million children in need before Labor Day.
 

United We Serve: Let’s Read. Let’s Move. is collaborating with the National Summer Learning Association to encourage communities and their children to get involved in summer reading programs.
 

The U. S. Department of Education - Reading five books over the summer prevents learning loss. Working with DOE, Let's Read. Let's Move. will increase awareness about the critical importance of summer learning and encourage Americans to read to children. Additionally, DOE’s 2010 Summer Enrichment Series will invite Cabinet members, Administration officials, and other public figures to read children’s books, promote healthy lifestyles, and participate in games and fitness activities with children in pre-kindergarten through third grade.
 

For most teenagers, the stresses of school, homework, friends, and extra-curricular activities are enough to fill the daily schedule. But not for Zoe Gates. As a third grader in Andover, Massachusetts, Zoe Gates realized that she wanted to contribute to her community in a bigger way and work on a unique project that would benefit others. Zoe and one of her friends, both avid readers, decided to launch a book drive so that other children could experience the same joy and excitement they felt whenever they read a book.