State Employees' Credit Union (SECU) members have provided a $250,000 grant to fund the ongoing production of "Biz Kid$."

This award-winning public television series promotes financial education for elementary and middle school students. Beginning production of a fourth season, the fun, fast-paced series engages youth in topics such as saving, budgeting and entrepreneurship.

This is the second SECU Foundation grant in two years provided for production assistance of the increasingly popular series, with $125,000 given in 2009, a news release said.

"Biz Kid$," with its educational focus, was a clear choice for foundation support and is heavily utilized by SECU personnel in North Carolina middle schools, the news release said. Staff members in SECU branches have been trained on the curriculum, and the Credit Union continues to work with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to train teachers on the program.

"Biz Kid$" television episodes and corresponding learning activities are shared with middle school students primarily in social studies and career and technical education classes. Thousands of students have already been reached through SECU's efforts.

"State Employees' Credit Union has always placed financial education as a high priority, and providing funding for 'Biz Kid$' is a great way to expand our reach with North Carolina students," said Shirley Bell, chairwoman of the SECU Foundation board. "With today's continuing economic crisis, our members realize that learning the basics of financial management is more critical than ever. 'Biz Kid$' has been well-received since its debut, and we look forward to seeing its continued positive impact."

SECU is a nonprofit financial cooperative owned by its nearly 1.7 million members. The SECU Foundation, a tax-exempt charitable organization funded solely by the contributions of SECU members, promotes local community development in North Carolina primarily through high impact projects in the areas of education, health and human services.