ProsperityME Welcomes UCU’s Lesley Ridge to Marketing & Development Committee

PORTLAND, Maine (February 7, 2022) – ProsperityME has appointed UCU Community Engagement Manager and certified financial counselor Lesley Ridge to the organization’s volunteer Marketing & Development Committee. Founded in 2008 by Claude Rwaganje — a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo — ProsperityME is a non-profit service organization dedicated to helping Maine’s immigrants and refugees build successful, rewarding lives in their new homeland.

ProsperityME offers financial services, including financial literacy courses, one-on-one financial counseling and coaching, counseling for higher education, small business support, and partnering with other organizations on workforce development. Services are open to all refugees, immigrants, asylees, and low-income individuals in Greater Portland and Lewiston-Auburn, Maine. For more information, visit www.prosperityme.org.

“Lesley’s experience and training as a certified financial counselor and her community engagement role with University Credit Union perfectly complement our work at ProsperityME, helping all who seek to build new lives here in Maine through financial literacy, career and small business development, volunteerism and public services,” said Megan Piper, ProsperityME Board member and Chair of the Marketing & Development Committee.

As one of UCU’s Community Engagement Managers, Ridge represents the credit union in communities throughout the state, engaging with members, businesses, nonprofits, local leaders, and others to support financial literacy, volunteerism, and public service. Originally from Gardiner, she is a proud graduate of the University of Southern Maine and may be a familiar face to many on the USM campus, having previously served as Campus Branch Manager of the USM Brooks Student Center location.

Ridge joined UCU in 2011 following a long career in human resources with a large regional supermarket. A Certified Credit Union Financial Counselor (CCUFC), she enjoys volunteering with local nonprofits and bringing financial literacy to students of all ages including volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club of Southern ME, Wayside Food Programs, United Way’s Thrive 2027 Initiative, and now ProsperityME. When not at work, she enjoys gardening, Zumba fitness, and Maine’s many lakes and coastal waters.

She can be reached by email at lridge@ucumaine.com.

About University Credit Union
Established on the University of Maine campus in 1967, University Credit Union is an innovative, full-service financial institution with a mission to actively advance the financial well-being of our members in every stage of their lives. UCU is the seventh largest credit union in Maine in terms of total assets, sixth in total members, and has retail locations across the state located in Orono, Bangor, Farmington, Gorham, Portland, and Presque Isle. For more information visit ucumaine.com.

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