Raising $150,000 to buy tens of thousands of books for patients at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children was the successful goal of the 10th annual Reach Out and Read charity basketball tournament on Saturday, October 28, 2023. The event was held at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia.
The tournament involved 160 players from the Philadelphia region on 16 teams, each vying for the championship in a two-division, round-robin format. In addition, 40 volunteers took part, including referees and scorekeepers. Last year’s tournament also raised $150,000 to purchase books for pediatric patients at St. Christopher’s.
The outdoor pavilion area featured health and wellness activities provided by NovaCare, including stretching, warm-up/cool-down exercises, and athletic taping for participants. There was also a CPR demonstration and tutorial from the nonprofit organization, CPR Jukebox, a food truck, and lunch provided by local restaurant Slices.
Reach Out and Read is a national nonprofit organization that trains and supports pediatricians and nurse practitioners to integrate the early literacy program into routine check-ups. Pediatric teams supply families with brand-new books for children up to age five to take home from well-child visits and provide guidance about the importance of reading together every day. The practice of reading daily supports healthy childhood brain development, and early language acquisition, establishing a foundation for future literacy.
The children receive books from their pediatricians with a “prescription” for reading - and parents receive the tools and knowledge they need to continue reading together at home.
The tournament for St. Christopher’s is the primary fundraiser to support the effort to ensure that children in the North Philadelphia community have access to books. More than 350,000 families have received literacy guidance and 230,000 books have been distributed by the hospital, free of charge, since the program's inception in 2001.
Studies have shown that 46% of children are not prepared with the skills they need to start kindergarten in Philadelphia. When children do not have books or someone reading to them, they enter school lagging in vocabulary, language, reading, and listening skills. As a result, these children have much higher failure and dropout rates, further perpetuating the poverty cycle for the next generation. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the gaps in literacy have increased further.
About St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
St. Christopher's Hospital for Children is a 188-bed facility providing exceptional care to children from across the Philadelphia region. Founded in 1875, the hospital has more than 200 physicians who are pediatric experts, and offers a wide array of specialties. St. Christopher’s is home to one of only three Level I pediatric trauma centers in Pennsylvania, a Level III neonatal intensive care unit—the highest level—and the only pediatric burn center between New York and Baltimore. The hospital is a Magnet® designated facility—the gold standard of nursing—and is one of the largest pediatric medical training centers in the country. For more information, visit towerhealth.org.