
Members First Credit Union President and CEO Bruce B. Leighton has recently been named Chair of the Board of Directors of the NH Jump$tart Coalition. The mission of the NH Jump$tart Coalition is to improve the financial literacy of pre-kindergarten through college-age NH youth by providing advocacy, research, activities, standards and educational resources. NH Jump$tart strives to prepare youth for life-long successful financial decision-making.
Members First Credit Union employees recently raised more than $600 for the NH Jump$tart Coalition by donating money to the organization if they wore jeans to work at either of the Manchester branches.
“With more than 30 years of banking and credit union experience, Bruce will be an asset to the NH Jump$tart Coalition and we are honored to have him serve as Board Chair,” said Dan Hebert, NH Jump$tart Coalition President. “Bruce is an effective leader who is passionate about the local community he lives and works in. NH Jump$tart looks forward to his ideas and vision for our organization.”
Leighton joined Members First Credit Union in 2012 and has held senior positions at People’s United Bank in Portsmouth and St. Mary’s Bank in Manchester.
“The NH Jump$tart Coalition has an important mission to ensure the younger generation of our community is financially literate, and I am passionate about promoting that mission to other leaders in our community,” said Leighton. “I look forward to working with the organization and seeing the positive impact the NH Jump$tart coalition has on so many students.”
For more than 14 years, the NH Jump$tart Coalition has conducted teacher training, student programs and holds the annual LifeSmarts competition for students in grades 9-12. The competition challenges students on several crucial areas of real life: personal finance; health and safety; environment; technology; and consumer rights and responsibilities. The 2014 New Hampshire LifeSmarts State Champions from Mascoma Valley Regional High School defeated the LifeSmarts team from Massachusetts to capture the 2014 National LifeSmarts title in Orlando Florida.
NH Jump$tart is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization created in 2000 and dedicated to improving the personal financial education of students throughout New Hampshire. More information about NH Jump$tart and its activities is available at www.nhjumpstart.org.