Josh Allison, relationship development manager at Horizon CU, Spokane, Wash., developed the Biz Kid$ Piggy Hunt, which incorporates materials from the Biz Kids$ financial literacy initiative to engage children and adults. Here, a group of teachers work on the hunt.

MADISON, Wis. (3/21/13)--Biz Kid$, a financial literacy initiative that teaches kids about money and business, is now part of a treasure hunt for financial literacy. The Biz Kid$ Piggy Hunt is a collaboration of Biz Kid$ and Horizon CU of Spokane, Wash.
 
Josh Allison, relationship development manager at Horizon CU, created the treasure hunt to connect with local schools to spread the message of financial literacy as a way to engage children.
 
Every week clues are left for students to find a hidden piggy bank.  The clues lead to teachers, who have Biz Kid$' financial literacy worksheets and assignments for students to complete. When students complete the assignments, they receive the next clue, and continue hunting.
 
Students are given special piggy hunt passports to track their progress through Biz Kid$ clips and corresponding worksheets. The first student to make it through the worksheets and find the hidden piggy bank is awarded a cash prize from the student's credit union.
 

Sarah Rusnak, a single mother who won the $500 prize in a Piggy Hunt sponsored by Horizon CU, Spokane, Wash., displays her winning check after finding a pig hidden in a coffee shop. (Photos provided National Credit Union Foundation.)

In the case of Horizon CU, the treasure is a $500 prize, with $250 going to the winner and $250 donated to the charity of the student's choice. Allison and Horizon CU have launched the program at several area middle schools, and the initiative has been expanded to include teachers and parents.
 
The creators of Biz Kid$ thought so much of Allison's idea that they branded it made it available credit unions to use nationwide, said NCUF.
 
The game has attracted media attention. The Bonner County Daily Bee and the Columbia Basin Herald also feature articles on the Biz Kid$ Piggy Hunt. The Anthem, the newsletter of the Northwest Credit Union Association, also featured the hunt.
 
Biz Kid$ includes an award-wining TV series, free classroom curriculum, outreach activities, a website and a monthly online newsletter targeting children 9-16 years old.
 
A coalition of credit unions and credit union organizations underwrites the program, raising $13.2 million during the past six years to support its production, website and curriculum. The NCUF oversees fundraising, outreach and administration.