Stamford business owner Jeré Eaton is compelled to bring her city closer by helping its youth reach far.
Eaton grew up in Stamford in a public housing facility that is now Lawn Hill Terrace.
Eaton graduated from Stamford High School in 1979. She earned the then-new Jackie Robinson Fund scholarship, which gives scholarships to minority youths for higher education. Eaton has been active in the organization ever since.
“From there I went on to Northeastern University, playing three years of Division 1 basketball,” said Eaton.
After getting her fill of basketball, she transferred to the University of Tennessee to finish out her college career earning a degree in marketing.
Upon graduating, Eaton went to work for Chesebrough-Ponds, now Unilever of Greenwich.
Eaton went on to work for the marketing divisions of Maybelline and then Coca-Cola, between which she was given the opportunity to travel and live elsewhere.
“I got to see the world,” said Eaton.
In 2005, Eaton fell victim to the end of a large round of company layoffs at Coke.
In December 2004, only a few months before being let go, Eaton had begun a small printing and embroidering product and service business, called Printabilitees. The small business would become her main focus and her primary profession.
“It was great to be doing something a little bit different,” said Eaton. “I was coming from the world of sales and marketing and the hardest part was to go from thinking like a philanthropist with no expenses to thinking like a business owner where all the expenses were mine.”
Eaton initially focused on apparel, but has expanded the business since then to business promotional items, which now accounts for 50 percent of her business. In its fifth year, Eaton looks to expand the business and move into a new Stamford office in the near future.
Through it all, Eaton has always remembered the scholarship that allowed her to pursue her professional dreams.
“I was able to go to college because a lot was given to me, but I didn”™t have to do a lot of give back,” said Eaton.
One of Eaton”™s first nonprofit ventures is “blackct.us,” which she began in 2006. It is a community-based Web site that unites black residents, businesses, nonprofits and faith-based organizations by sharing information and resources.
“It”™s focused on black families,” said Eaton. “There”™s information on events that are going on, that basically would uplift a community. Then there”™s information on scholarships and jobs. I started it because I was a little entrepreneur with very few advertising dollars and by starting blackct.us I was able to give them something that they want to read and then see information about Printabilitees.”
Blackct.us has garnered a following that amounts to about 8,000.
In 2007, Eaton, acting with eight other Stamford area professionals, also helped to found the Multicultural Chamber of Commerce of Stamford. She currently serves as the president.
“What we”™re really trying to do is to bring together blacks and Hispanics and then people that are newer to the entrepreneurial world,” said Eaton. “What you find is that we”™re all relatively new entries to it. We figured that through a community of new people we would be able to help grow each other. We”™re still developing.”
Since receiving the Robinson scholarship in 1979, Eaton has felt very strongly about early awareness for opportunities, especially in inner city situations.
“It”™s great to see the young people coming out of the programs and see them grow,” said Eaton. “It”™s usually the opportunity to go to college or not.”
Eaton takes part in the mentoring program for the Jackie Robinson Fund.
“I think it”™s always important to give back,” said Eaton. “For me it”™s always been important to know other people and interact.”
Eaton has recently begun a program for inner-city high schoolers of touring the colleges of Connecticut to allow them to see the dream of college close to home. It”™s a tour that could take them far.
