Jessica Lewis, Alison Gabage, Katie Black, Dr. Jenelle Abnett, Michelle Prendergast, Samantha Finsterbush, and Christa Ruppert (officers and members of KDP).

Before Christmas, Kappa Delta Pi students hosted a book drive for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Through social media, posted signs and collection tables, the education honor society gathered more than 1,000 new and gently used books for CHOP’s Reach Out and Read program.

The students of KDP were inspired by the 2015-16 campus theme (integrity) and Pope Francis’s emphasis on care of creation. Students hoped that people would reuse and recycle books, clearing their shelves of ones that have been read and passing them on for others to enjoy prior to the Christmas season.

Reach Out and Read is a nonprofit organization that gives young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encourages families to read aloud together. The program is built on the unique relationship and captive audience a pediatric doctor has with new families. It equips parents with tools and knowledge to ensure that they are supporting their child’s reading development as early as possible.

Today, Reach Out and Read partners with more than 5,500 primary care sites across all 50 states, with a special emphasis on children growing up in low-income communities, distributing more than 1.6 million books a year.