Woman’s Hospital, BRAF, and Book Harvest Launch New Literacy Initiative
BATON ROUGE, La. – Today, leaders from Woman’s Hospital, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation (BRAF), and Book Harvest proudly announced the Books from Birth early literacy initiative. This program is designed to empower families by providing newborns and their parents with a starter home library kit to help foster a lifelong love of reading as early as possible.
“This is a unique opportunity to partner with Book Harvest and BRAF to advance literacy in our community and make a meaningful impact beyond the walls of our hospital,” said Woman’s CEO Rene Ragas. “We want every family we serve to have the support they need to raise healthy, thriving children. By providing this free resource, we are equipping families with tools that can positively impact their children’s future.”
The Books from Birth starter library kit includes 10 new board books, babywear, and additional resources to help parents introduce early language and reading routines. The initiative aims to build a strong foundation for literacy, supporting families as they nurture their children’s development through reading.
“Children are, quite literally, the future of our community. Books from Birth and the partnership with Woman’s Hospital is an exciting addition to the outstanding network of literacy resources already available to families, joining efforts like Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to help children begin building foundations of learning from day one. By supporting caregivers in those earliest moments, we are making a long-term investment in the future of every child and, in turn, the future of our entire community” Chris Meyer, president and CEO of BRAF said.
“We are elated to expand our programming to Louisiana through this partnership with Woman’s and BRAF. The success we have seen with the implementation of Books from Birth in North Carolina and Oregon gives us full confidence that this will change the trajectory of children’s futures in a meaningful way across the Capital Area,” said Jeff Quinn, Chief Operating Officer at Book Harvest.
Books from Birth is a core component of Book Harvest's early literacy continuum of care. Research shows that books in the home are the single biggest predictor of a child’s reading proficiency and long-term success in school, and regular reading from birth improves infant language scores by as early as 9 months of age. The program will first be launched within the Hospital’s Newborn and Infant Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which serves approximately 1,300 families each year.
More details about the program can be found at bookharvest.org/books-from-birth.
About the Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Among the largest community foundations in the country, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation has sought to improve the quality of life in greater Baton Rouge and across south Louisiana since 1964. The Foundation pursues its mission by serving donors to build the assets that drive initiatives and solutions, supporting local nonprofits to ensure overall impact and sustainability, engaging community leaders to develop appropriate responses to emerging opportunities and challenges, and by partnering with others to leverage collective resources and create the capacity to be a stimulus of positive regional change. For more information, visit BRAF.org.
About Book Harvest
Book Harvest’s mission is to provide books for every child, support for every parent, and literacy for every community. Internationally recognized for its work to transform children's literacy, Book Harvest has provided more than three million books to children and families since its founding in 2011, ensuring that children grow up from birth owning an abundance of books and that parents have the tools and power to ignite and strengthen their children's literacy for a lifetime. With programs that are grounded in evidence, Book Harvest believes that literacy starts at birth, in the home, powered by parents, and nourished with books. Learn more at bookharvest.org.
Access the Book Harvest brand guide, including logos, photos, and videos: https://bookharvest.org/media-kit/
About Woman’s Hospital
Woman’s is a specialty hospital for women and infants located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Since opening in 1968, it has welcomed more than 400,000 babies, making it one of the largest delivery services in the country and the largest in Louisiana. Additionally, Woman’s operates a level III-S neonatal intensive care unit; this designation allows them to care for infants who are extremely premature, are critically ill or require surgical intervention. The hospital is also recognized for its expertise in mammography as well as breast and gynecologic cancer care. As a private, nonprofit organization, all funds are reinvested into the hospital to continue Woman’s mission to improve the health of women and infants through the latest technology, a highly qualified staff and critical community programs and services.