WEDU, The Children’s Board of Hillsborough County, Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union, The Baldwin Foundation, and Parent Guide Magazine partner to teach kids about money and business.

WEDU, The Children’s Board of Hillsborough County, Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union, The Baldwin Foundation, and Parent Guide Magazine hosted summer workshops to encourage teachers, parents and caregivers of young children to utilize the invaluable resources provided by the PBS Program Biz Kids to strengthen the academic achievements, social and emotional well being of their students and children.

Biz Kid$ is the fun, fast-paced public television series where kids teach kids about money and business. America’s current economic crisis underscores not only what our financial institutions must do to strengthen our monetary system, but what individuals and families need to (and can) do to secure their own financial futures. The series and its grant opportunity and the support of The Children’s Board of Hillsborough County, Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union and the Baldwin Foundation is helping WEDU take a leadership role in bringing forward the essential need for our schools to provide economic education to youth.

The purpose of the 2010 Tampa Bay Biz Kids Summer program is to:

  • Engage young people and help them develop life skills in the areas of financial literacy and entrepreneurship.

  • Engage classroom teachers (4th to 8th grade) & caregivers of school aged children in using Biz Kid$, its curriculum and campaign resources, to build their students’ financial literacy and economic education skills. Materials are in English and Spanish.

  • Increase public awareness of the need for economic education in schools, to promote discussion and action, and to build public will to provide financial education as part of school curricula.

    • 12 Core episodes were selected from the Biz Kid$ series to be implemented into the curriculum projects of local community partners including public and private schools, youth-serving groups, faith-based and other media organizations. Some of the partners include Hillsborough & Pinellas County Schools, Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA, All About Kids, Tampa Housing Authority, among others.

    More than 100 individuals attended the WEDU Biz Kid$ Tampa Bay “Train the Trainer” workshops held in May 2010 at the Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union. Participants received materials needed to implement the program including curriculum workbooks, Biz Kid$ Lunchbox that included “Let’s Go!” brochures, DVD’s with the selected episodes as well as calculators, Biz Kid$ promotional items and Biz Kid$ business cards for all student participants to customize as their own.

    As part of the public awareness for Biz Kid$, The SunTrust Bank Building in downtown Tampa changed the top of the building to reflex the color Green in recognition of Biz Kid$ Tampa Bay summer program launch during the entire month of June. With the support of Lamar Transit Tampa and HART, Biz Kid$ Tampa Bay was provided an opportunity to promote its message on the HART buses in July and August.

    Now in its third season; premiering in January 2008, Biz Kid$ has been broadcast to more than 108 million households.

    Biz Kid$ is produced by Biz Kid$ LLP in association with WXXI Public Broadcasting in Rochester, NY. It is distributed by American Public Television.

    2009 Emmy Award WINNER
    2009 Environmental Media Award WINNER

    Production and educational outreach funding is generously provided to Biz Kid$ by a coalition of America’s Credit Unions.


    About Biz Kid Episodes



    Episode 101: What is a Biz Kid?
    You’ll learn that anyone can be a Biz Kid with effort and the right attitude. Biz Kids identify a need, make a plan, and take action. Join us and you’ll meet a skateboard designer, a rap music producer, a boy who started a rock-a-thon to raise money for hospital rocking chairs and more. You’ll discover, the entrepreneur who build a wildly successful garden products business on worm poop. All successful. All Biz Kids.
    Watch - Episode 101: What is a Biz Kid?

    Episode 104: What Can You Do With Money?
    Decisions, decisions! Join the Biz Kids and you’ll ponder the merits of spending, saving, donating, and investing money. Visit the New York Stock Exchange, get tips from the author of Not Buying It, and learn to avoid compulsive shopping. You can also learn how to create a financial diary and track spending. Meet an ambitious teen who opened a candy store at age 15 and, in the process, fulfilled a dream and revived an ailing business district in her small town.
    Watch - Episode 104: What Can You Do With Money?

    Episode 106: Taking Charge of Your Financial Future
    Join the Biz Kids as they figure out where they want to be financially and make plans on how to get there. You can work on your plans and meet some new kid entrepreneurs, too. Follow along as a Biz Kid sets up his first savings account. We also look at an innovative program that rescues street kids and gets them back into education and business.
    Watch - Episode 106: Taking Charge of Your Financial Future

    Episode 110: How To Achieve Your Financial Goals
    Join us and you’ll learn to track your expenses, get control of your spending, and invest what’s left over to reach your financial goals. You’ll see the importance of starting young, while time is on your side. Meet some high school entrepreneurs who started a sports business.
    Watch - Episode 110: How To Achieve Your Financial Goals

    Episode 112: Introducing Entrepreneurs
    You’ll discover an entrepreneur is someone who sees a financial opportunity and acts upon it. Learn the stories behind the Frisbee, the Slinky, and blue jeans. Meet an entrepreneur who started a lemonade stand to raise money for playground equipment, then grew so successful she was able to make over an entire park.
    Watch - Episode 112: Introducing Entrepreneurs

    Episode 116: Budgeting Basics
    The Biz Kids learn the first rule of money management: you can’t manage what you don’t know. Join the kids and you’ll look at spending and expenses and examine several proven methods on how to gain control of both. You’ll also meet several successful entrepreneurs.
    Watch - Episode 116: Budgeting Basics

    Episode 123: Understanding Income and Expenses
    Go with the cash flow. The Biz Kids watch the ebb and flow of income and expenses. Join them and you’ll learn proven methods for getting expenses under control while growing income with new ideas, smarter work habits, and innovation. Meet some entrepreneurs who have seen success with cash flow and more!
    Watch - Episode 123: Understanding Income and Expenses

    The Baldwin Foundation
    © 2009 Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting, Inc.