KSL Family Book Festival

KICKING OFF SUMMER WITH THE KSL FAMILY BOOK FESTIVAL
Security Service Federal Credit Union signs on as premier sponsor

A western theme will highlight the more than 30 kid-friendly booths and activities at the KSL Family Book Festival to be held at Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City on June 15 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

In partnership with Utah Foster Card Foundation's Chalk Art Festival, the Family Book Festival is organized by KSL TV, KSL NewsRadio and KSL’s Read Today program and presented by Security Service Federal Credit Union. Organizers expect an estimated 30,000 people at this year’s event.

Festival-goers will be able to meet and hear first hand from authors, have books signed, have photos taken with characters and participate in a variety of free activities including entertainment, music, KSL personalities and more.

According to studies, reading is the greatest predictor of child success in life. “We know we can achieve our goal of teaching every child to learn to read with the help of parents, grandparents, relatives and neighbors,” says Deanie Wimmer, Read Today chief executive officer and KSL TV anchor.

“Books change lives,” says Aaron Leek, SSFCU senior vice president for member service and training. “Events like this help foster a love of reading and encourage parents to get involved, which contributes to success. It’s important for the corporate community to wrap itself around initiatives like this. Education has a significant impact on the development of a strong workforce and economy. Reading is more than just a core subject…it’s the linchpin.”

Fast Facts about Reading

• School summer breaks can cause the average student to lose up to one month of instruction…the so-called “summer slide” (Cooper, 1996).
• High quality summer programs can help combat that loss (Rand Corp, 2011).
  Studies show that students who read more, read and write better and have larger vocabularies (Cunningham and Stanovich,1998), are more culturally aware (Meek, 1991), have greater insight into human nature and are better decision-makers (Bruner, 1996).
  Reading for pleasure has been revealed as the most important indicator of the future success of a child (OECD, 2002), and improvements in literacy, at any point in life, can have a profound effect on an individual (Dugdale, G. and Clark C., 2008).
• Men and women with low literacy skills are more likely to be on state benefits, less likely to vote and substantially less likely to own their own homes. Higher literacy rates lead to greater participation in community activities, more stable families, better mental health and a stronger and more flexible workforce (Dugdale, G. and Clark C., 2008).
• According to Read Today, research also shows those children who learn to read before age 9, with the help of involved parents at home have a much better chance of thriving in school.

ABOUT SSFCU

Security Service Federal Credit Union offers competitive, affordable financial products and services designed to meet the needs of its members. Security Service is an industry-leading financial institution with more than $7 billion in assets and 70 locations in Texas, Colorado and Utah. Headquartered in San Antonio, the credit union is among the top 10 credit unions in the nation and is the largest in San Antonio. Security Service strives to be America’s best credit union and provides the true benefits of credit union membership with financial services of the highest quality and value. Learn more at www.ssfcu.org or call 1-888-415-7878.