Top Honors Received for Most Students Reached

State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) was recently recognized by the Credit Union Financial Education Network (CUFEN) for its financial education efforts benefiting North Carolina youth. SECU took home top honors for the most students reached (58,936) and third place for the highest number of student presentations (875) from July 2022 through June 2023. SECU received the recognition among credit unions in the $1 billion or more asset category.

Financial education is an important focus at SECU and the member-owned cooperative has hundreds of trained staff who deliver financial education presentations in schools and community settings throughout North Carolina. SECU employees use a variety of resources, including its FAT CAT® and Zard® youth programs, Biz Kid$ curriculum, and the Credit Union’s popular Reality of Money® simulation activity to help youth learn to make informed decisions and achieve financial wellbeing into adulthood.

SECU also provides ongoing adult financial education through its statewide network of 275 branches, as well as its continually expanding online resources, and community engagement. In July 2022 through June 2023, SECU reached 2,814 adults through 122 financial education community presentations.

“We are most honored to receive these awards from CUFEN. SECU’s education initiatives have played a crucial role in promoting financial literacy among youth,” said SECU Financial Education and Community Involvement Manager Rachel House. “We are committed to our ongoing goal of growing our outreach and impact to help as many people as possible.”

CUFEN’s mission is to equip the credit union industry to provide financial education opportunities for all ages. Standardized reporting of financial education presentations is administered each year by CUFEN to help advocate for mandatory financial literacy initiatives in schools and communities by showcasing the significant contributions of credit unions through such programming.