Partner Spotlight: A Read-Aloud with Owens and Minor

Have you ever wondered how that Raising Readers book ended up in your child’s hands? There are many people that help in the journey of every Raising Readers book and some of the most important are right here in Bangor, Maine. This is the location of the Owens & Minor (O&M) warehouse and staff, who are responsible for managing the storage and statewide distribution of Raising Readers books. This group has been a dedicated partner to this program for 20 years!

Our friends at O&M have been with Raising Readers since the beginning and have contributed a combined 309 years of service! These tireless program champions fill the book orders for over 325 participating health centers and hospitals across the state, ensuring that providers and practices receive accurate and timely deliveries. They also assemble the Raising Readers newborn tote bags given to every baby born in Maine. This amazing team manages and moves more than 150,000 Raising Readers books annually in collaboration with CDS (Commercial Delivery Service). In January they shipped out the 3 Millionth book!

As Raising Readers celebrates our 20^th anniversary, we also want to celebrate this wonderful partnership with the O&M team. They’ve taken time from their busy schedules to contribute to our read-aloud series, which you can check out here.