United through Reading

By Tanesha Hayes, Volunteer

The saying, “It’s the little things that matter” holds a great deal of weight for those who serve in the Armed Forces. Little things like saying goodnight, seeing facial expressions from the person you adore, and even story time are to be cherished, yet they are hard-to-have moments for soldiers and their families while physically separated. When service members are deployed or on TDY (temporary duty yonder), they want to continue sharing bonding experiences with the special children in their lives.

For service members looking to keep reading time a consistent thing no matter where they are, United Through Reading provides them with that experience. It’s literally, ‘storytime on demand’ for children. United Through Reading (UTR) understands the importance of the‘little things’ and that sharing a special moment, like reading together, can bridge even the furthest distance between families and service members.

In addition to service members being able to read with their family as much as they’d like, they are promoting their child’s love for reading, while reassuring their child’s emotional connection and easing the stress and anxiety that comes with separation.

The process is easy! 
A service member can simply contact their nearest UTR program manager and schedule a meeting time to record a personal reading - any book of choice - for a special child in their life. This is such a unique and thoughtful program because it also allows service members to personalize their recordings through their mobile UTR app. This means a service member can record from the comfort of any location and make magic happen. You could call it storytime on-demand!

The program uses recorded video so children can watch and read along with their special service member as many times as they’d like. This service is open to all members of the armed forces. UTR is 100% donation-based, so there are plenty of book options provided through the program; including bi-lingual books.

Oh! Did we forget to mention it’s free of cost?

Whether a service member is reading to a military spouse, child, or pet, anyone who receives a video can benefit in a positive way. With a UTR video service, members can be there for bedtime every night, on a birthday, the first day of school, or anytime their children need them. When calling home isn’t an option, United Through Reading is.

If you’re interested in learning more about the program visit https://unitedthroughreading.org/

Sources 
1- https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/2008/RAND_WR566.pdf
2- https://unitedthroughreading.org/