FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — A BizKid is coming to the White House April 16, and the credit union promoters of the syndicated public TV show could not be more thrilled.
"We're really excited that one of the youngsters, Raphael, featured in one of the series episodes will be recognized by President Bush at a White House ceremony," said RoxAnne Kruger, national BizKid$ project manager and senior vice president of the Washington Credit Union League.
The April 16 event recognizes Raphael Spiro, a Forest Hills, N.Y. book entrepreneur chosen as one of 10 national recipients of the President's Environmental Youth Award sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency.
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A clip of Raphael's segment on the BizKid$ show will be aired during the ceremony, said Kruger, noting the New York youngster is founder of a used-book firm called Bedside Books and will be given the Youth Award recognizing "young people across America for projects which demonstrate their commitment to the environment."
Meanwhile, Kruger together with Seattle producers of the show and the chief financial backer, the National Credit Union Foundation, stepped up national promotion in March of the literacy series as PBS stations across the U.S. began broadcasting the half-hour show with CU branding as taglines.
"Since the series launch Jan. 6, the BizKid$ PBS program has grown from 104 PBS stations to 303," said Kruger. She added that American Public Television reported in early March that BizKid$ is now the most widely carried program of all the shows that it currently represents and is carried in 48 states, the United Kingdom and Canada.
In a separate action on BizKid$, the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation, representing the North and South Carolina Credit Union Leagues, said it expects to greatly increase market penetration throughout the two states and western Virginia following contracts signed with stations in Raleigh.
The deal allows broadcast into Charlotte and Myrtle Beach and permits the foundation on behalf of CUs in the Carolinas to underwrite ad messaging.
Those stations include UNC TV, which has links to the University of North Carolina, and WTVI with penetration reaching South Carolina and western Virginia.
As aired, the BizKid$ tagline mentions that CUs are sponsoring the program "because credit unions care about our kids and our communities," suggesting viewers, whether youngsters or their parents can "learn more about credit unions" by checking the Web site www.carolinasfoundation.org.
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