Literacy and health are linked together like pieces of a puzzle.

People need to be able to perform basic reading and number skills in order to make and carry our decisions affecting their health. Parents need to be able to understand appointments cards, read prescription labels and medicine amounts to properly and safely care for their child.

Healthcare providers have a special relationship to parents of young children and to the children themselves. They provide an important role in helping parents understand how to manage their child's health and development. Reading aloud to a child from birth helps them develop the skills they need to succeed in school. Giving books at well-child visits gives the healthcare provider the opportunity to stress the importance of reading with the parents and offer guidance and support for sharing books with the child.

$500 for your baby's future!

The Harold Alfond College Challenge
is a new program that will provide a $500 grant to every Maine baby to start saving for college. This $500 grant is for all Maine babies born on or after January 1, 2009. There is no income limit or additional contributions required.

Like the Libra Foundation (the foundation which funds raising readers), the Harold Alfond Foundation believes in investing in Maine's youngest citizens to ensure both academic success and happy, productive futures.