To round out our Women’s History Month blog series, we are honoring Jeri Foutter, who supports Food For Free in her work as VP of Community Relations and Foundation Officer at Cambridge Savings Bank.
Growing up in Hawaii, Jeri’s upbringing was heavily influenced by her family’s culture of philanthropy. She was taught from a very young age to look beyond herself and to give generously to those less fortunate in her community, and she spent a significant portion of her childhood volunteering to help older persons and to support families with special needs members.
Jeri fondly recalls helping her father build ramps for wheelchair-bound individuals so they could participate in bowling, and becoming a volunteer lifeguard so that she could teach children with special needs how to swim. Being exposed to the needs of individuals and groups in her own community inspired Jeri to seek to help others in her career. Her goal was to become part of an organization that not only gives back generously to the community, but that centers their core values around social impact.
Her passion for social impact led Jeri to her current position at Cambridge Savings Bank, where she oversees corporate giving. She is grateful be a part of a company where employees, Executive management, and Foundation Board members are deeply engaged in the community through volunteerism, fundraisers, drives and Foundation support for the community.
“There are so many stories that you may read that demonstrate the need in our communities,” Jeri shared. “For example, there was one testimonial about a mother with young children, who had been experiencing homelessness for a majority of her entire time as a mother. The Bank had a very successful pajama drive and we were able to support her children (and many others). The young mother was very thankful to receive pajamas for her children and the children were so excited to change out of their day time clothes into pajamas for the very first time before they went to bed. Many times, we need to look beyond ourselves and help others, because you really don’t know what someone is going through.”
Food insecurity is one of the main focuses of the bank’s foundation, and though the problem was prevalent in the community prior to COVID-19, the last three years have exacerbated the problem for many. The bank decided to step up their giving in response to the increased need. In March 2020, Cambridge Savings Bank added $1 million to their giving budget and immediately approved approximately $500,000 for food assistance – Food For Free was a critical partner in that, as were local food pantries and Meals on Wheels programs. In 2021, Cambridge Savings Bank was able to give $2.2 million back to the community, and in 2022 the bank chose to anchor giving to earnings and pledged 6% of 2021 earnings, or $2.8 million, which the bank will maintain going forward.
Cambridge Savings Bank has been a strong corporate partner of Food For Free for over 15 years, a decision that the bank continues to make because of the level of impact that Food For Free is able to have in the community through their comprehensive approach to food insecurity. The Foundation and the bank have donated over $300,000 in grants and sponsorships to Food For Free over the past 15 years.
Jeri shared that Food For Free is one of the most requested corporate volunteer opportunities by employees at Cambridge Savings Bank. Food For Free is able to make volunteers feel welcome and to provide a fun experience, while also helping volunteers understand the positive impact their efforts have to boost food security in the community.
On a personal level, Jeri feels humbled to partner with Food For Free, and believes that the nonprofit is a unique organization that does wonderful work. In reflecting on her involvement with over 350 nonprofits, she believes that Food For Free stands out for the way they have purposefully and thoughtfully approached food insecurity, upstream & downstream.
“Food For Free has an innovative approach in the way they identify areas of food insecurity and come up with programs that offer solutions,” shared Jeri. “I feel a strong support for students and young children who rely upon free or reduced school meals as their primary source of food. Food For Free is filling a gap in their access to food by providing them with meals over the weekend through their Weekend Eats program. They are doing work in ways that I don’t see other nonprofits doing, and they are doing it in a way that is kind and preserves dignity.”
When considering Women’s History Month, Jeri hearkens back to a time when education for women was neither common nor easily available. The childhood role model that significantly impacted how she views women’s roles in society is surprisingly her paternal grandfather, who was born in 1900, the oldest of 6 siblings. Jeri’s grandfather became the family breadwinner at age 16 when he lost his own father, and worked 3 part-time jobs while he was in high school, until starting his own business after he graduated from high school, to support his mother and 5 siblings. He was emphatic that all 5 siblings, including his 2 sisters, would go to college so that they each had the opportunity to financially support themselves as adults. At that time, women’s education comprised of nursing or teaching, and not much else. Jeri was proud to share that her grandfather was able to make personal sacrifices in order to put all 5 siblings through college in the 1920s and 1930s.
Hearing how important women’s education was to her grandfather really impacted Jeri while she was growing up, and she appreciated that he uplifted the women in her family and passed on that perspective of empowering women to the next generations.
Jeri was emboldened to become a woman who gives expansively and without reservation because of her strong familial support, and the impact of her work is already undoubtedly transforming future generations for the better.
Thank you, Jeri, for your passion for uplifting our community, and for choosing to partner with Food For Free as one way to deepen your impact!
