Boston, MA, June 14, 2011 – Boston-based nonprofit Families United in Educational Leadership (FUEL) announced today that it has hired Hillel Bromberg as its new Director of Grants Development & Administration and Kaitlin LeMoine as Director of Education & Research. FUEL is also proud to announce it is the recipient of a grant from the prestigious Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation.

FUEL was established as a nonprofit organization in January 2009. Since then, it has expanded to include 18 community, after-school and youth program partners, and seven program sites in the Greater Boston area: Lynn, Chelsea, two sites in Boston, and the Boston neighborhoods of Chinatown, Dorchester, and Roxbury.

“Our program expansion meant we also needed to expand our team. Hillel Bromberg and Kaitlin LeMoine both exhibit the qualities that FUEL is based upon -- perseverance, ambition, and creativity,” said FUEL Founder and Executive Director Bob Hildreth. “We look forward to a successful summer and fall as we continue to evolve and grow.”

Bromberg brings a wealth of experience to FUEL, having worked for more than two decades in higher education, social service, mentoring and after-school programs, and the arts. He most recently created and staffed the development department at Quincy College in Quincy, Massachusetts. As Director of Grants Development & Administration, Bromberg will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of prospective grant research, developing and fostering relationships with key stakeholders, preparation of grant proposals and reports, and proposal submission. He will also maintain relationships with existing donors.

In order to enhance the organization’s programming, LeMoine has been hired as Director of Education & Research. In this new role, she will be responsible for developing the FUEL curriculum for online platforms and for the monthly Savings Circles, which are a core component of the FUEL program of promoting financial literacy and guiding families through the college planning process. Prior to FUEL, LeMoine was the Student Enrichment Coordinator at Prospect Hill Academy Charter School.

These hires come at an exciting time of growth for FUEL, which recently announced its partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston (BGCB). This partnership adds college planning and financial literacy curriculum to BGCB’s life-enhancing programs. The BGCB-FUEL College Savings Program will enroll families participating in BGCB programs in Roxbury (Yawkey Club of Roxbury), Dorchester (Blue Hill Club), and the Counselors in Training program at Camp Harbor View.

FUEL’s continued evolution and expansion is thanks in part to a recent grant from the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation, which is committed to improving the quality of life in Greater Boston. The Foundation awarded FUEL with a multi-year capacity-building grant for $300,000. FUEL will use the grant to conduct a detailed evaluation of its programming model of engaging low-income families to help them save and prepare for college. The goal of this evaluation is to examine the current impacts of the FUEL model in order to develop organizational outcomes that support further expansion and replication throughout Massachusetts.

About Families United in Educational Leadership (FUEL)

Families United in Educational Leadership (FUEL) is a nonprofit organization that offers to match the savings of low-income families for their children’s college education. FUEL was founded by Robert Hildreth, a banker and social entrepreneur, in January 2009. FUEL is currently running successfully in Lynn, Chelsea, Boston, and the Boston neighborhoods of Chinatown, Dorchester, and Roxbury. The program is set to launch at other sites in 2011-2012. More information is available at www.fuelaccounts.org.

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