Taye Diggs to headline Reach Out and Read New York benefit

Reach Out and Read of Greater New York will host its 26th annual benefit Oct. 20 at Tribeca Rooftop, honoring actor and author Taye Diggs and raising funds for early literacy programs. The event is expected to bring in more than $300,000 to expand access to diverse books for children across the five boroughs.

Why it matters: - The benefit is designed to fund early literacy support for children across Greater New York. - Organizers expect the event to raise more than $300,000. - The money will help provide diverse books and reading guidance to underserved communities across the five boroughs. - The event puts books that reflect children’s lives into pediatric care settings, where families already have regular contact with clinicians.

What happened: - Reach Out and Read of Greater New York opened ticket sales for its 26th Annual Benefit, “A Book for Every Child.” - The benefit is set for Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 6 to 10 p.m. at Tribeca Rooftop in Manhattan. - Actor and children’s book author Taye Diggs will be honored with the organization’s Literacy Leadership Award. - Diggs will also celebrate the release of his newest children’s book, “Prince Bedhead.” - Guests can buy tickets at more information.

The details: - Diggs and Macmillan Publishers will donate more than 500 books to support Reach Out and Read’s work. - The books are meant to help the organization bring diverse stories to families through pediatric care across Greater New York. - Reach Out and Read clinicians give culturally and developmentally appropriate books and shared-reading guidance during well-child visits. - The organization’s model aims to make reading together part of a child’s life from birth. - Dr. Marcy Stein-Albert and Dr. Kathrin Balaoura of NYC Health + Hospitals/South Queens will receive the Advocate for Diverse Books Award. - Reach Out and Read’s Book Buying Buddies initiative helps the organization provide families with diverse, culturally relevant books. - This year, Reach Out and Read of Greater New York and network partners contributed more than $1.6 million toward a bulk book purchase. - That purchase produced more than 800,000 books for children and families nationwide. - Books from that purchase will reach Reach Out and Read clinics early in the new year.

Between the lines: - The event highlights a broader push to match books with the languages, cultures and identities of the families clinics serve. - More than 60% of children served nationally by Reach Out and Read are Black, Indigenous or other people of color. - In Greater New York, 88% of Reach Out and Read sites serve communities where a majority of residents are people of color. - Leaders say families are more likely to read together when books reflect their culture, language and identity. - Diggs’s role ties a high-profile author event to a practical fundraising goal: getting more relevant books into the hands of children early.

What’s next: - Reach Out and Read will hold the benefit on Oct. 20 at Tribeca Rooftop. - The organization expects to use the fundraiser to expand access to diverse books and reading support in Greater New York. - Clinics are set to receive books from the latest bulk purchase early in the new year. - Supporters can still purchase tickets through the organization’s website.

The bottom line: - Reach Out and Read is using Taye Diggs’s star power and new children’s book release to drive donations for a simple goal: more children in Greater New York getting books that look and sound like their own lives.