About Us
Advancing Early Literacy for Lifelong Learning
At Read to Grow, we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to thrive through the power of words and stories, starting at birth. As a statewide nonprofit, we work to build strong foundations for lifelong learning by promoting language skills, increasing access to books, and supporting families as their child’s first and most important teachers.
Our Mission
To promote language skills and literacy for children, beginning at birth, and to support families as their babies’ first teachers.
Our Vision
Every family will understand the importance of early childhood literacy and actively engage in their child’s reading development. All children in Connecticut will have books of their own.
Our Core Values
- We are committed to making books a part of every child’s life from birth.
- We support families in fostering early language and literacy skills.
- We collaborate with families, partner organizations, and community groups.
- We uphold Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in all we do.
- We are committed to financial sustainability and long-term impact.
Why We Do This Work
Early literacy is one of the strongest predictors of a child’s long-term academic success. Yet many children in Connecticut enter kindergarten without ever owning a book or being read to regularly. Research shows that access to books at home—combined with strong parent engagement—has a direct impact on vocabulary, school readiness, and reading outcomes.
We work to change this reality by empowering families with books, practical tools, and literacy education to help them build a language-rich environment at home. Together, we’re helping families make reading a joyful, everyday activity—not a once-in-a-while event.
Our Programs
Read to Grow reaches families early and often through a set of interconnected programs:
Books for Babies
Books for Kids
The Bookmobile
Our History
Read to Grow was founded in 2000, when Roxanne Coady, owner of RJ Julia Booksellers, rallied a group of community members to create the Books for Babies Fund. What began as an effort to give every baby in Connecticut a book has grown into a statewide movement for early literacy, reaching more than two million children and families over the past 25 years.
Join Us
With your support, we can build a future where every child has the words they need to tell their story—and every family feels empowered to help them write it.
