How Separated Military Parents and Their Children are United Through Reading

United Through Reading

Each year as the holidays approach I try to find a worthy organization to donate to. This month we have been discussing the importance of reading aloud to children and how to read aloud to babies. So, I think I have found the perfect charitable organization that promotes and understands the importance of reading aloud to children -- United Through Reading.

There are 1.9 million children with a parent serving in the U.S. military; 220,000 of these children have a parent currently deployed. One of the most difficult things a child can experience is having a parent deployed to a war zone for an indeterminate period of time.

United Through Reading is a military program that helps ease the stress of separation for military families by having deployed parents read children’s books aloud via DVD for their child to watch at home.

This powerful program is available to all deploying military units and at select USO locations. It provides parents a chance to make powerful and lasting connections with their children and parent from afar.

Founded in 1989, United Through Reading is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) public benefit organization. Their mission is to unite families facing physical separation by facilitating the bonding experience of reading aloud together.

Their vision is that all children will feel the security of caring family relationships and develop a love of reading through the read aloud experience.

United Through Reading, the nation’s first nonprofit to promote the read aloud experience for separated families, offers deployed parents the opportunity to be video-recorded reading storybooks to their children which creates positive emotional connections and cultivates a love of reading. By participating, deployed parents can turn downtime into Mommy or Daddy time to help ease the stress of separation, build family resiliency and make homecomings easier.

The vision of United Through Reading is that all children will feel the security of caring family relationships and develop a love of reading through the read aloud experience. If you would like to donate or if you are interested in volunteering, please feel free to contact us at 858-481-7323 or at email.


Click here to learn more about the organization.