UHS Foundation awarded $15,000 from Upstate Foundation for ‘Reach Out and Read’

A UHS program encouraging the habit of reading at an early age got a big boost this past weekend.

“Reach Out and Read,” which seeks to instill a love of reading in youngsters at an early age, benefitted from the annual Walk/Run for Kids at Otsiningo Park on Sept. 23.

At the conclusion of the walk/run, the UHS Foundation was presented with a check for $15,000 to help fund Reach Out and Read.

The five-kilometer event was hosted by the Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital Foundation, which also benefits from dollars raised during the walk/run.

The Upstate Foundation provides financial support for UHS pediatric patients who have to travel to the Syracuse-based hospital for certain types of pediatric subspecialty care and hospital admission.

Physicians in our community rely on the pediatric subspecialists at Upstate Golisano to care for our patients who have complex or chronic medical conditions, as well as those in critical need of pediatric intensive care.

The reading program has been in place for the last several years. Patients are given a book at each well visit with their pediatrician, starting at six months of age, in an effort to promote literacy and enhance their development.

At the start of the program, books were given through age 5. Recently, UHS expanded the program to include children through age 8. It is a successful program that has been very well received by our patients and their families.

To learn more about Reach Out and Read, click here.