Support a Love of Reading!

Natalie has always loved books and slowly graduated from picture books to become a great reader around the age of 10 years. Natalie has Down syndrome and has such a love of reading! Everywhere she goes in life, at least one book is always with her.   

I am the coordinator of the Reach Out and Reach program at the Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado, and I also am honored to serve on the Board for Reach Out and Read Colorado (RORCO). Together, we are able to offer new books to our children from birth to 5 years of age. Our families are so eternally grateful for this gift that allows us to offer hope, joy and support of reading starting right from birth!

Research through the American Academy of Pediatrics has shown that the earliest months and years of a child's life are critical periods in brain development and speech acquisition, and we have recently published an article proving the positive impact of RORCO on our population of children with Down syndrome in our clinic.

In addition to the Sie Center, Reach Out and Read Colorado also works with more than 330 clinics and 2,000 healthcare providers throughout Colorado to provide books and literacy guidance at 330,000 well-child visits each year. 

I have personally committed to friend-raising a total of $1,500 for Colorado Gives Day- December 10th. I hope that you will donate to Read Out and Read Colorado to help children like Natalie and others develop a love of reading and always have a book that they love in their hands! 

Thank you, 

Dee Daniels