BRANFORD, CT – The Read to Grow office in Branford received a special, bipartisan shipment of hundreds of donated books this week. Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven), Senator Ted Kennedy, Jr. (D, Branford) and Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) delivered six crates full of hundreds of children's books that have been donated by legislators and senate staff over the past several months.

Nearly 61 percent of low-income families in Connecticut have no age-appropriate books for their children at home. Read to Grow is working to fix this by providing free books and reading materials to the families of newborn babies before they leave the hospital, and by making free books available at the offices of various nonprofits and social service organizations.

"We know that children who are comfortable reading are children who are prepared for academic and social success," said Senate President Looney. "Children who grow up surrounded by books are more likely to pick them up and learn to enjoy reading. By working with Read to Grow, we are ensuring that the hundreds of books donated by legislators and staff find their way into the hands of an eager young reader."

"Read to Grow is an incredible organization that has touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of families around Connecticut," said Senator Kennedy. "A love of reading is the key that opens many doors in our lives. I hope that the books we donated today will help bring that love to hundreds more children and families in our state. We are proud to have Read to Grow here in Branford and look forward to working with them again in the future."

"Early literacy is key to education and success in life. Read to Grow does an incredible job spreading that message and helping connect parents and children to books at all levels of early development. I applaud them for all that they do for our families to instill a love for reading in every child they touch. Thank you to everyone who donated a book to this great cause," said Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven).

"I can't tell you how much we appreciate this kind of donation," said Kyn Tolson, Director of Operations and Development at Read to Grow.  "Not only do we need the books, but this donation represents an understanding by our lawmakers that reading is a real fundamental need in everybody's life. The ability to read and to write and to speak are critical in communications skills that build a foundation allowing children to grow and lead to successful lives. We're so grateful for friends like these."

Read to Grow provides 58 percent of all newborns in the state with baby books and literacy guides for their parents. Twelve Connecticut hospitals now participate in this program, through which 265,000 newborns and their families have been given reading materials. Read to Grow also provides books and childhood literacy information to health clinics in Hartford and New Haven. Patients at these clinics receive free books and reading information when they bring their children in for health checkups.

Read to Grow serves older children as well by offering new and used books like the ones donated by Senators Looney, Kennedy and Fasano to child-care providers, library programs, nonprofits, teachers and directly to families. These books are given out at "Book Places," which are located at family resource centers and with other community organizations around Connecticut. Families and children are invited to visit the Book Places and pick out something to read.