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Prescription for Reading

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."
- 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."
- 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."
- Ken Lay, Chairman and CEO of Enron

"The result will be healthy, inquisitive children who become more productive, successful adults."
- 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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