16 July 2003 15:17
Special Delivery Made to New Moms and Babies at Maricopa Medical Center
PHOENIX, July 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon SuperPages and Friends of Libraries U.S.A. (FOLUSA) have a special delivery
for the 5,000 newborns expected at Maricopa Medical Center over the next year. Thanks to Verizon's signature
literacy initiative, Books for Babies, new mothers will learn the importance of reading to their infants, how to
cultivate an early interest in books and how to foster family literacy. Verizon and FOLUSA will roll out the Books for
Babies program in nine other U.S. cities over the next 12 months.
"Children who are read to as babies are less likely to have trouble learning to read in school," said Ian
Bennett, M.D., Ph.D., medical advisor for the Books for Babies program. "The bonding that takes place when a parent
reads to a baby creates a positive association with books, leading to a healthy appetite for reading later in childhood
and beyond."
The Books for Babies program gives parents a literacy tool kit, available in English or Spanish, that includes the
baby-friendly book Peek-A-Boo! by Roberta Grobel Intrater, a "prescription" urging parents to read to their
babies, a "Baby's First Library Card" and supplementary information with reading tips for new
parents.
When a Books for Babies kit is delivered to a new mom, the community health practitioner also discusses the
importance of reading aloud for the long-term health and development of the child.
"Including literacy education and counseling as part of post-partum maternity care illustrates for parents the
link between literacy and health," said Maricopa Medical Center's chief of Labor and Delivery, J. Chris Carey,
M.D. "The Verizon Books for Babies program gives mothers who have their babies at Maricopa the information and
resources needed to build literacy skills in their babies' earliest developmental stages."
County officials, medical professionals and representatives from Verizon and FOLUSA kicked off the program today at
the Maricopa Medical Center. Dr. Bennett, Department of Family Practice and Community Medicine at the University of
Pennsylvania Health System, and Dr. Carey delivered the first Books for Babies packages to mothers and the babies born
within the past 48 hours.
"Early interaction with books and reading is essential for healthy early childhood development," said Sally
G. Reed, executive director for FOLUSA. "As part of this initiative, we will work with the Friends of the Phoenix
Public Library to ensure that Maricopa's new parents know about their local literacy resources -- the Phoenix area
libraries, its collections and services."
The national Books for Babies program, made possible by a $238,000 grant from Verizon, will deliver 50,000 books to
newborns and their mothers over the next year. A leading literacy advocate, Verizon has previously supported this type
of program in Richmond, Va., Philadelphia, Honolulu and San Antonio, Texas.
About FOLUSA (Friends of Libraries U.S.A.)
Friends of Libraries U.S.A. provides networking opportunities and educational support for local Friends of Libraries
groups across the country. Over 2,000 Friends groups, libraries and individuals belong to FOLUSA representing hundreds
of thousands of library supporters. Founded in 1975, FOLUSA's mission is to motivate and support local Friends
groups in their efforts to preserve and strengthen libraries, and to create awareness and appreciation of library
services.
About Verizon Information Services and SuperPages.com
Verizon Information Services is the world's leading print and online directory publisher, a content provider for
communications products and services, and the largest publisher of Hispanic directories in the U.S. With operations in
14 countries and annual revenues of more than $4.3 billion, Verizon Information Services publishes 1,200 U.S. Verizon
SuperPages directories and nearly 400 international directories with a total circulation of approximately 156 million
copies worldwide.
Based in the Dallas area, Verizon Information Services produces and markets SuperPages.com, the Internet's #1
online directory and shopping resource. SuperPages.com receives as many as 16 million visits and 10 million unique
visitors a month and powers directory services on MSN, InfoSpace, Excite, Lycos, Univision.com, Terra.com, YupiMSN.com,
Ask Jeeves, HotBot, BigFoot, Tripod and Angelfire as well as more than 2,500 affiliate Web sites.
The company supports computer literacy with philanthropic programs and through the Enlighten Me and Internet Learning
Tutor sites on SuperPages.com. Enlighten Me is a fun site where children and their caregivers go to read, learn and
explore. The Internet Learning Tutor is specifically designed for adults who are just learning their way around the
Internet.
Verizon Information Services is a unit of Verizon Communications Inc. , one of the world's leading providers of
communications services. Verizon Foundation last year awarded 22,000 grants totaling more than $70 million to nonprofit
agencies that focus on improving basic and computer literacy, enriching communities through technology, and creating a
skilled work force. Verizon
CONTACT: Media - Heidi Jaquish, Verizon SuperPages, +1-972-453-6473, heidi.jaquish@verizon.com; or Carlton Sewell of
FOLUSA, +1-215-790-1674, carltons@folusa.org; or Jennifer MacLeid, Young & Assoc., +1-301-309-9404,
jenniferm@yapr.com
Web site: http://www.verizon.com/ http://www.superpages.com/
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html
[CAIW [Corporate Announcements Intelligence Wire]] |
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