The fifth consecutive year of SESLOC Credit Union’s partnership with KSBY News to support childhood literacy through the “If You Give a Child a Book…” campaign ended up as the biggest in history. In 2025, the community, SESLOC members and SESLOC employees raised $102,372 to support childhood literacy with the Scripps Howard Foundation. In addition to being a new all-time record, it’s also a 40% increase compared to 2024. Thank you for all your contributions to directly benefit Central Coast children.
The funds you helped raise will provide local students at Title I schools the opportunity to take home books from a specially organized Scholastic bookfair. For many of these students, this will be the foundation of their personal home libraries, fostering a love for reading and enhancing literacy among the young minds of the next generation.
This fundraiser comes at a critical time for elementary-level students across the Central Coast. Data shows that children who are unable to read at grade level by the end of the third grade is four times less likely to graduate. In addition, research shows that 61% of students from low-income backgrounds possess no books in their households. Through the “If You Give a Child a Book…” campaign, the community has made a difference by ensuring that books are readily available to children who are most in need.
Thank you for making this year’s “If You Give a Child a Book…” campaign the most successful in its history.