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Prescription for Reading
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Enron's Prescription for Reading is a simple, effective, and
innovative pre-school literacy program in partnership with
the University of Texas Health Science Center and other medical
organizations. This program is a Reach Out and Read program aimed at
promoting literacy among 30,000 Houston-area pre-school age
children over the next three years.
Doctors and nurse practitioners at area health clinics in low-income
neighborhoods "prescribe" that parents read to their children each
night and provide a complimentary age and culturally-appropriate children's
book at every well-child check-up, about every six months. By
encouraging parents to spend time reading to their children and
monitoring the reading progress of their young patients,
health care specialists are able to ensure children experience both
physical and intellectual health.
"When I think about children growing up in homes without books,
I have the same visceral reactions as I have when I think of
children in homes without milk or food or heat. It cannot be,
it must not be. It stunts them and deprives them before they've
had a fair chance."
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Dr. Perri Klass, Boston Medical Center
"Along with good nutrition, exercise, care, and love,
doctors agree that children need a daily dose of parent-child
reading. This program will serve as a model for clinics
across Texas. We hope to reach thousands of children in
the Houston area."
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Laura Welch Bush, First Lady of the United States
"It's a simple, innovative idea that has proven to
be an incredibly powerful prescription in the fight against
illiteracy. These children will reap the benefits of this
program throughout their entire lives."
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Ken Lay, Chairman and CEO of Enron
"The result will be healthy, inquisitive children who become
more productive, successful adults."
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M. David Low, President of UT-Houston Health Science Center
Interested in opening a new chapter in your volunteer log? Please contact
community-relations@enron.com
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