"I commend these students for wanting to learn and grow and become thriving members of the community. I want them to enjoy the good things in life and be able to get A credit rates when it comes time for them to buy a car and a home," said Nemcoff. "They were so attentive and interested in learning about banking. Hopefully, we've helped them just a little bit."

When invited to speak by Andrea Beard, Van Nuys Education and Career Center adviser-teacher, MCCU jumped at the chance and plans are underway to speak to speak to more schools in the Valley.

"I don't want them to be afraid of having a bank account," said Nemcoff. "I want them to be knowledgeable when they do open an account and apply for a credit card or loan so they make smart decisions."

More and more credit unions are also finding that when it comes to financial literacy an early start can make a huge impact. Targeting its education efforts to even younger members, for seven years NuMark Credit Union's Bank at School program has been teaching first through eighth graders about the benefits of saving money. Twice a month, the credit union's bank-at-school coordinator brings the credit union to the school, and the five student-tellers take deposits from fellow classmates. The students learn how a credit union operates and spend the day learning how the currency system works, how money is made and what responsibilities come with working in the financial industry. They also practice taking deposits and learning the importance of account confidentiality. As a treat, they get to select a small prize based on the amount of money they deposit. Last year the students of Laraway Elementary saved over $2,500.

"The students selected are all on the honor roll and are leaders within the school. They get the chance to work first-hand in a banking institution and find out how credit unions work for their members," said NuMark CU President Ann Dubie. "Now they will use this knowledge in their classes and share it with their peers."

Making the most of free time in the summer, E Federal Credit Union in Baton Rouge, La., launched its first annual Camp $martMoney.

Touted as a fun and interactive financial education day camp designed for teens, the weeklong camp held at E Federal's Burnside branch, taught teens ages 13 and older about making, managing and multiplying their money in an entertaining and challenging environment.

The program, designed using educational materials from Junior Achievement and the National Endowment for Financial Education, covers a broad spectrum of real-life financial topics using a mix of guest speakers, videos and challenging team projects. Campers learned about various issues, including wants versus needs, setting financial goals, investing, budgeting, credit and credit scores, being wise borrowers and summer business plans.

"We know how important it is to start teens early on the road to financial success. This is just one step. To widen that knowledge base we'll continue hosting educational programs to meet the different needs of the entire community," said E Federal CU Vice President of Marketing Cris Melancon.

To help reinforce campers new knowledge, teens competed in a number of fast-paced, engaging games including the bounce the ball, not the check game, Visa's financial football online video game, and $martMoney Jeopardy.

Covering the virtual aspect of education is Ent Federal Credit Union, which recently developed and launched a free financial education podcast series on its Web site (www.ent.com).

The timely podcasts provide information on a variety of subjects, such as avoiding foreclosure and understanding credit reports. The credit union has also worked on podcasts addressing NCUA insurance questions and first-time home buying, with the goal of producing a new podcast every month.

"We felt it was important to develop podcasts to better reach a younger audience as well as provide those of all ages with fast, convenient information. With the ever-increasing popularity of iPods and the growing demand for fast, on-the-go information, we hope our new podcasts provide convenient financial advice that people can use in their daily lives," said Ent FCU Director of Marketing/eCommerce Victoria Selfridge.

To support the podcast initiative, Ent set up an in-house recording studio and uses members of the Ent leadership team for their recordings. Ent staff writes the podcast scripts by utilizing internal experts, such as Bill Vogeney, the credit union's chief lending officer, and Jon Paukovich, Ent's vice president of mortgage lending.

According to Jim Moore, Ent's senior vice president of corporate communication, "We have a wealth of knowledge and experience within the credit union and are glad to tap into those resources to help provide education to the community. With recent economic uncertainty, the need for sound financial advice is ever present. We hope our reputation for being a solid, secure financial institution will encourage those with questions to come to us for free objective financial advice."

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