United Through Reading (UTR) is singularly focused on uniting military families who are facing physical separation by facilitating the bonding experience of reading aloud together.

There are more than 200 UTR locations worldwide where parents who are deployed with the military can be video-recorded reading storybooks to their children at home.  On nearly every deployed US Navy ship, on overseas bases in locations such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Djibouti, Germany, Korea, and Japan, in USO host sites, on bases in the U.S., on Coast Guard Cutters, and at military medical facilities, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coasties are reading bedtime stories to their children.  It’s a simple thing with great impact. 

Imagine a soldier who has deployed for the first time.  He locates the United Through Reading recording site at his new duty station in Iraq, drops his gear, and picks up a book to read on video for his daughters at home.  Now imagine his daughters, running to the mailbox to find a package from Daddy containing a DVD and the storybook!  Tonight and every night he is away serving his country his girls will have a bedtime story with Daddy despite separation by oceans, continents, and time zones. 

Many military members serve in environments where phone and internet connections are inconsistent or unavailable.  Communicating with small children across time zones also presents unique challenges.  United Through Reading video recordings ensure that children can see and hear their far-away parent consistently and in a way that fits into the family routine.

This one simple connection eases the stress of difficult separations for all military family members, makes homecomings easier, and cultivates a love of reading in children.