CUNA and the editors of Googolplex are pleased to announce that two of CUNA's LifeStage publications are finalists in the national Eddie & Ozzie Awards—awards that cover the entire publishing industry.

1. The Money Mix Spending Blog is one of three finalists in the category "Best Online Column or Blog." MoneyMix is CUNA's online subscription product for young adults age 18-30. The other finalists are Sports Illustrated and SELF Magazine.
Many credit unions that subscribe to Googolplex also subscribe to MoneyMix, in which case a link to MoneyMix automatically appears in the left navigation bar on every page in C-Note, the high-school level of Googolplex. Here it is from A+ Federal Credit Union's subscription.

2. Plan It, the online subscription product for preretirees, is one of three finalists in the Best Consumer Website category for non-profits/associations. American Rifleman, from the NRA, and VISI, from New Media Publishing, are the other two finalists. Here is Plan It from Appalachian Community Federal Credit Union's subscription.

As you can see, CUNA's two publications are in elite company. The winners of the Eddie & Ozzie Awards will be announced Nov. 1. 

One of our C-Note bloggers wrote in early October about the "new fees that banks are planning to impose on debit card users."

Using concepts and language appropriate to high-school teenagers, Bridget recommends "sticking with a local credit union, which will be less likely to have ridiculous fees."

You can read the entire post here. Bridget ends by telling teenagers, "All in all, you must take control of your finances and shop around for the best deal," sending potential members to aSmarterChoice.

We're pleased that a young Googolplex contributor has so naturally united with the rest of CUNA's efforts to take a stand for consumers on this important issue.

Use your credit union's Googolplex customization and installation page to enter text and include links that will display on almost every page of 5-Spot, AJ's, and C-Note. Here's how:

• Go to your Customization and Installation page.
• Click on Basic Data in the tabs at the top
• Click on End of Story Message in the left-hand tool bar.
• Type in your message.
• If you want, use html to code to link specific text back to your credit union youth page.

If you don't customize in this way, the following default text displays:

"What makes credit unions so great? Members like you. Every dollar you invest in your credit union earns you money while other members borrow it. When you're ready for a loan, other members' savings will be there to help you out at the lowest possible cost."

You can do better than that! Scroll down to the bottom of any interior page in Googolplex to see the display area and decide what text you want to display.

With your subscription you get several tools to help you market Googolplex. They're all available from your Googolplex customization and installation page. Rena Crispin, Googolplex's managing editor, at 800-356-9655, ext. 4258, can help you pinpoint the best tools for your situation.

It seems that C-Note teenagers are scientifically inclined! This poll question came from one of our former Teenage Panel members. It isn't a comprehensive list of all career choices, but something to get teenagers thinking.

Type "career" in the search engine at the top right of any page in C-Note and browse through the list of stories, videos, and games on that topic. Almost every story was written by a teenage credit union member.

 

Because some careers have better prospects than others, point your high-school students to Choose the Right Career.

 

Last month's Instant Poll* question and its results:

 

Q: Which job would you rather have?
 

1. A doctor to heal people 2. A teacher to shape children 3. A contractor to build homes for families 4. A pilot to transport people 5. An environmental scientist to preserve our world

41% 20% 11% 9% 20%

Instant poll questions capture your high school members’ attention. On which issues would you like to learn more about what they think? Use your imagination and send your poll questions with possible responses to Rena Crispin.

* Instant poll results reflect an unscientific sampling of Googolplex readers.

Here's the lineup in Googolplex for December 2011, and January and February 2012.

5-Spot stories

Fix It Quick: Crayon on the wall? Caitlin, 12, shares her home solutions that might even make you end up looking like a hero!

Make Green Stuff From Old Stuff: Kasey, 11, likes to "look for things that have been forgotten or thrown away." He's turned his hobby into a thriving business, and you can too!

Gardening: It's Worth the Effort: In this three-part series on why, how, and wow! Maddy, 13, shares with us her secrets to getting the most out of dirt.

5-Spot activities

I Want Candy: You love your new job at the chocolate factory, but the candy never stops coming. Match identical flavors in rows of three. How much money can you make before you back up the Choco-6000 and shut down the machine?

The Card Whisperer: The Great Googolini has a simple card trick for you...simple, that is, if you believe she can hear you whispering to a computer! Think of a card, then whisper it. Watch in amazement as she pulls it from the deck!

Sonic Math: Are your math skills built for speed? Sonic Math hurls math equations at you for you to answer as fast as you can. So get busy—race the clock!

AJ's stories

Photography With a Future: It's expensive to own the right equipment, but, "If you get really good at taking pictures, you could become a professional photographer," says Sydney, 14. Let her show you how.

Want Money? Consider an Internship: Have you ever wanted something like a cellphone or a laptop but you didn't have enough money to get it? Lucia, 12, says you may be able to earn money, and more, with an internship.

Skateboarding for Life: Whether or not you dream of competing professionally in the world of skateboarding, Adam tells you how to skateboard for life.

AJ's activities

HB2U: Use these high-tech utilities to learn amazing facts about YOUR birthday.

Bamboozled: There are more than 3,800 words in the English language with a double-o. Can you identify these double-o answers without getting bamboozled?

Get It for Granny: Granny just sent you to her labyrinth of a cellar to retrieve a thing or two. Before you can get it, you must navigate her cellar—it's not your typical maze, but Granny’s cellar is anything but typical.

C-Note stories

Take Action Against the Dreaded Freshman 15: You've heard all about it, and it sounds scary. But you CAN avoid the dreaded "Freshman 15"! Hannah, 18, just finished her freshman year and she says, "It’s a lot easier than you think!"

Make Your Money Work in a Roth IRA: Hannah, 15, asks, “Where do you want to be in 60 years?” Planning ahead that far seems impossible, but let Hannah explain why you should think about opening a Roth IRA and take advantage of compound dividends now.

Travel on the Cheap: A European Adventure: Kelsey shares what she learned about traveling on the cheap while planning, organizing, and traveling in Europe for three weeks with two friends. “It was the trip of a lifetime!” she says.

C-Note activities

Weekend Logic: Saturday afternoon at the soccer field presents you with a puzzle--who just passed to whom?

Three of a Kind: Caution: You are about to pass through a vocabulary vortex into a world where all you get is a set of three words that don’t really go together...unless you can discover a fourth dimension that connects with each.

$88,333 a Second: What cost $88,333 a second in 2010? An ad during the Super Bowl. Take this quiz and you’ll never look at another ad the same way again!

Here are the links to the feature items students saw in October 2011:

5-Spot Activity

Hyper Hodgepodge: See letters magically move on the page to help guess these goofy drawings.

5-Spot Story

Buried Treasure: Finding cool toys at a good price is like finding buried treasure. Michael, age 13, tells you how.

AJ's activity

Battle in the Boneyard: You’re in the boneyard filling a gunnysack with your booty when the not-so-friendly Skyler Skeleton challenges you to a bone-grabbing battle.

AJ's story

Orchestra: Don't Miss Out! "Do you do any extracurricular activities?" asks Pamela, 13. If not, she adds, "join your school's orchestra! It's super fun!" Pamela tells you the many reasons why.

C-Note activity

SlipSlop: Check out this collection of 30 of the most unusual, obscure, and completely real words. Attempt to guess their actual definitions and you’ll find them to be downright bizarre!

C-Note story

Enjoy Special Nights Without Busting the Budget: "Every now and then it's nice to get all dressed up and have a special night out with friends without breaking the bank," says Samantha, 16. She'll help you plan a great night out and save money at the same time.

C-Note video

The Credit Union Umbrella: Enjoy this little jewel from the 1920s starring the Little Man and his credit union.

Every quarter we send you enough ready-to-print pages to create three full newsletters— one for elementary-school, middle-school, and high-school level readers. We provide newsletters in high resolution for print, and low resolution for e-mail or online viewing.

Here’s how you get it:

To retrieve the ready-to-print, ready-to-view newsletter pages each quarter, log in to your Googolplex newsletter page, select the pages you need, and download them free of charge.

Don’t waste your subscription

 

Whenever you change your credit union Web address or logo, check your Googolplex customization. Make sure your links and credit union logo are what you want by logging in to your Googolplex Customizing and Installation page.

 

If you have technical or subscription questions, or need help in setting up your password, please e-mail Debbie Michels, or call 800-356-9655, ext. 4091.

If you have questions, comments, or ideas for Googolplex editorial content, please e-mail Rena Crispin or call 800-356-9655, ext. 4258.

We respect your privacy. If you’d rather not receive future e-mails on Googolplex, reply to this message with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

 

This e-mail was sent on behalf of

Credit Union National Association (CUNA)

5710 Mineral Point Road

Madison, WI 53705.