Children and families from across the city participated in Reading Round-Up, a fun, outdoor event at the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago. Reading Round-Up is dedicated to promoting literacy by distributing free books, offering free children’s literacy activities and lively entertainment. Infant Welfare, along with Reach Out and Read, Literacy Chicago, and the IWS Auxiliary gave away hundreds of books in English and Spanish. Infant Welfare hosts Reading Round-Up annually as part of its Literacy Encouragement for Educational Readiness (LEER, or “to read” in Spanish) program. Infant Welfare’s patient families face considerable barriers to developing their children’s reading and school-readiness skills, such as poverty and lack of English proficiency. Based on the national Reach Out and Read (ROR) program, LEER distributes books to young children at every pediatric visit; provides ESL classes and advice from a nurse educator regarding the importance or reading; and hosts the Adventure Club, a group for children and teens that provides in-depth exposure to the arts, culture and science.Founded in 1911, the Infant Welfare Society was an early pioneer and advocate for child and maternal health. Infant Welfare provides pediatric care; obstetrics, gynecology and preventive health care for women; pediatric dental care and orthodontics; family counseling and therapy; and educational programs in parenting, child development and literacy. Infant Welfare recently opened a new community health center in Logan Square, on Chicago’s northwest side, where its array of services are more accessible to its patients. The four-story, 40,000 square foot building will enable IWS to serve even more children and women.
