8th Annual Book Drive Kicks Off to Benefit Local Kids

 

Tulsa, Okla. (June 1, 2011) – The 2011 Bank of Oklahoma Literacy Campaign and Book Drive kicks off June 1 and runs throughout the month. Oklahomans are encouraged to bring a new or gently used book to any Bank of Oklahoma location and in turn, Bank of Oklahoma and its partner, Volunteers of America, will get those books into the hands of kids who need them most.

 

“For the eighth year in a row, we’re asking Oklahomans to join us – our employees, our customers, our friends – in collecting books for children in our communities,” said Steve Bradshaw, senior executive vice president for Bank of Oklahoma. “We’re proud of the more than 200,000 books we’ve collected over the years and look forward to adding to that total this year.”

 

Book donations are being collected through June 30 at all Bank of Oklahoma locations in the state. Books for children six months to 12 years are preferred. Visit www.bankofoklahoma.com for the list of branch locations.

 

As part of BOK Financial, Bank of Oklahoma is one of seven banks in an eight-state region that participate in collecting books.

 

Leslie Paris, senior vice president and community relations manager, said that the partnership Bank of Oklahoma has with Volunteers of America is important because they help get the books directly to children in the Tulsa community.

 

“Supporting sustainable change in our local communities is a goal of ours at Bank of Oklahoma,” said Paris. “The book drive is a wonderful way for us to engage our employees and customers in a project that directly benefits their own community.”

 

Paris said that being involved in projects that offer communities sustainable change is critical to the organization.

 

“Literacy is a key to future life success,” said Paris. “By giving a child a book, we’re doing a small part to get them on the road to reading, which ultimately will affect their ability to succeed in school, go to college and live as a productive citizen.”

 

In addition to collecting books, the annual campaign focuses on raising awareness of the importance of literacy in our communities. Children need to learn to read so they will be literate adults, who can work with a team, follow safety instructions, keep themselves and their families healthy, and be active in their local communities by being educated about issues and voting.

 

Current statistics on literacy in the U.S. include (as of Oct. 2010):

 

-       In the U.S., 30 million people over age 16 — 14 percent of the country’s adult population — don’t read well enough to understand a newspaper story written at the eighth grade level or fill out a job application.

-       More than 60 percent of all state and federal corrections inmates can barely read and write.

-       Low literacy’s effects cost the U.S. $225 billion or more each year in non-productivity in the workforce, crime, and loss of tax revenue due to unemployment.

 

About Bank of Oklahoma

Bank of Oklahoma is a division of BOK Financial, a regional financial services company that provides commercial and consumer banking, investment and trust services, mortgage origination and servicing, and an electronic funds transfer network. Holdings include BOKF, NA, BOSC, Inc., Cavanal Hill Investment Management, Inc., and Southwest Trust Company, NA. Operating divisions of BOKF, NA include Bank of Albuquerque, Bank of Arizona, Bank of Arkansas, Bank of Oklahoma, Bank of Texas, Colorado State Bank and Trust, Bank of Kansas City, and the TransFund electronic funds network. Shares of BOK Financial are traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol BOKF. For more information, visit www.bokf.com.