ECBC’s Bedside Reading program includes the following:

• Expert, trained volunteers who read aloud to optimize engagement, dialogue, good thinking, and literacy skills. The majority of our bedside readers are current or retired classroom teachers, reading specialists, or school psychologists.
• High-quality literature for patients of all ages from infancy through teens and young adults. Featured books for each age category are selected monthly.
• Crafting supplies for book-inspired creative activities (such as authoring a sequel to a picture book using a hardcover “blank book” or creating a “story puzzles” by painting a favorite setting on a blank puzzle).
• “Book Bands” reading incentive program, which is a collection of ten silicon bracelets with phrases about reading that patients receive for saying “yes” to a book or a read aloud.
• Materials for parents and caregivers with guidelines for reading with their kids through treatment and hospitalizations.
• Radio-flyer wagons to carry all bedside reading program supplies in a fun and patient-friendly way