Nearly 3,000 attended United Way of Greater L.A.'s 5th Annual “Fall Into Literacy” Festival

WILMINGTON, Calif. - Oct. 13, 2015 - PRLog -- Nearly 3,000 families attended a “Fall Into Literacy” Book Festival on Saturday, October 10, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Banning Museum in the City of Wilmington. During the event – hosted by United Way of Greater Los Angeles (UWGLA) and sponsors Valero, Phillips 66 Los Angeles Refinery, the Office of Recreation and Park and Councilman Joe Buscaino – more than 4,000 books were donated to low-income families in an effort to raise awareness about the importance of reading.

         In attendance were more than 30 community agencies who participated as exhibitors, thirteen local authors, and popular children’s characters Curious George and Madeline who greeted the crowd of festival goers. Participants also enjoyed author book signings and readings, family-oriented activities and musical entertainment by Cambalache.

         “We had a great turnout,” said Cesar Guerrero, Education Program Coordinator at United Way of Greater Los Angeles, who oversees the organization’s Success by Six initiative. “United Way knows that literacy is a key factor in helping to end generational poverty for many low-income families through education. This is why we’ve partnered with non-profit organizations, sponsors and Councilman Buscaino’s office to make this local book festival and book giveaway happen,” added Guerrero.

         More than 80% of Los Angeles students live in poverty and face dramatic literacy gaps before they enter kindergarten. A recent UC Berkeley study found that low-income Latino toddlers fall behind their white peers in language development by age two – a gap of almost 30 million words by age three. United Way knows that literacy – especially early literacy – provides a strong foundation for a child’s life-long academic success. This is why, for the past five years, the United Way’s Success by Six (SB6) initiative in the City of Wilmington has helped parents and young students gain literacy skills through the Motheread, Inc. program. The Fall Into Literacy book festival is a cornerstone of the SB6 initiative, which reaches thousands of low-income Latino families and brings together a diverse coalition of community stakeholders and partners to celebrate the importance of literacy for families. Through book giveaways, literacy activities and resources, the event ensures that low-income families have the knowledge and information necessary to bridge the large literacy gap that contributes to inter-generational poverty.

For more information about United Way of Greater Los Angeles’ “Fall Into Literacy” book festival initiative contact Evelyn G. Aleman at (818) 881-7976 (Office), (818) 943-2481 (Cell) or via e-mail at evelyn@mipr.net.