RALEIGH, N.C.– Officials from CarolinaEast Foundation, CarolinaEast Health System, State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) and the community broke ground at the construction site of a new facility in New Bern, the SECU Comprehensive Cancer Center at CarolinaEast Medical Center.
The member-funded SECU Foundation announced its support for the initiative during the event, providing CarolinaEast Foundation with a three-year $3.5 million grant to aid the non-profit’s community campaign efforts for the Cancer Center’s construction. SECU Foundation Executive Director Jama Dagenhart presented the check to CarolinaEast Foundation for the medical facility that will provide greater access to comprehensive cancer care for residents in coastal North Carolina.
“This is perhaps the most monumental day in the history of CarolinaEast,” said Ray Leggett, President and CEO of CarolinaEast Health System. “We have been very fortunate to have stellar physicians, facilities and technology to battle cancer locally – but now, with State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) Foundation’s gift of $3.5 million and the many others who have so generously supported this important initiative – all of those – and more, will be coming together under one roof, right here.”
“SECU Foundation is proud to work in tandem with CarolinaEast Foundation and CarolinaEast Health System in support of their mission to provide high-level comprehensive care and prevention programs to help North Carolinians in their fight against cancer,” remarked Johnson. “Our statewide 2 million plus members, and specifically the nearly 78,000 members in this region, understand the significance and impact the SECU Comprehensive Cancer Center will have in coastal North Carolina. The Center will help to bring comfort, healing and the assurance of receiving the best care to families in this region coping with this terrible disease.”
Separately, SECU members are continuing their support of financial literacy for North Carolina’s youth by providing a $75,000 grant from the SECU Foundation to help fund Season 6 production of the Biz Kid$ public television series. This grant follows the Foundation’s previous donations to the Emmy award-winning Biz Kid$ series, as SECU members provided $125,000 in 2009 and $250,000 in 2011 for production of Seasons 3, 4 and 5.
Introduced by SECU’s staff to North Carolina schools, Biz Kid$ programming can be viewed on several University of North Carolina Public Television Network stations and is a fun and educational middle school financial education curriculum that teaches kids about money and business. The program is a great addition to SECU’s other youth education offerings, including SECU’s FAT CAT Program for elementary-age students, the National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program (NEFE HSFPP), SECU’s Reality of Money Experiential Learning Program, and young adult presentations for college-age students.
There are currently over 750 SECU employees statewide who are trained to teach Biz Kid$, the credit union said. Through established connections with local schools, these representatives teach Biz Kid$ curriculum in the classroom and provide ongoing support to the schools’ faculty and staff. In addition, SECU gifts a season series DVD box set to public middle schools, making the videos accessible to students and giving teachers the confidence to use a nationally supported financial education program that has been mapped to the state standards in North Carolina.
“Credit union staff have found the Biz Kid$ program to be a valuable financial education tool for middle school students. It keeps them engaged in the learning process of managing money,” said Jim Johnson, SECU Foundation Board Chair. “SECU strives to find creative ways to help youth understand and develop good spending and saving habits – essential life skills needed to help them become financially healthy.”