Photographs by William Taufic.
Jami Sherwood crams as many hours of volunteer work into her life as she possibly can, which is a tendency that seems to run in the family. “My mother, who is seventy-nine and lives in Phoenix, is the same. My daughter, Lauren, is going to be the same.”
Actually Lauren’s first role in a play at Curtain Call at age eleven was the spark that set off Jami’s volunteerism, which then spread like wildfire through organizations across Stamford. “I started out helping with props at Curtain Call, and I got more and more involved. I produced shows. I got on the board of directors, and I’m still on it. I was the chairman of the board for seven years.” Jami’s daughter went on to get her master’s degree in theater management and now directs in the area, and Jami went on to various committees at Stamford Museum & Nature Center, Stamford Downtown (DSSD), Mill River Park, and the Bennett Cancer Center, to name a few. She is part of Friends of Downtown, a group of women that raises money and interest in events. She chairs Curtain Call’s Dancing With the Stars. “The circle is very small—a lot of the same people are working on these different things,” says Jami. “Working in the trenches—it’s great bonding, I meet people that have the same values and interests.”
Friend and fellow volunteer Juanita James describes Jami as the “the hardest working member” on the Citizens of the Year committee, which honors Stamford citizens, veterans and students. “She produces the programs, volunteers her son to produce the video, and is involved in every detail of the event itself,” says Juanita. “She works equally hard for so many other community groups.”
“It’s not really a choice, it just happens,” says Jami, lightheartedly, even though being so generous with her time also just happens to mean a lot less sleep and little time for the gym. She also runs Simply Signs, a graphic design business that produces signs and banners. Some of the nonprofit organizations she now supports were initially her clients.
Originally from the Bronx, Jami says, “My dad had a couple of shoe stores. We all—five of us—worked in the stores.” From there she went to Iona College, and then became president of WVOX Radio in New Rochelle. Jami and her then-husband moved to Stamford thirty years ago.
“Stamford is home,” says Jami. “I love this town. I love the people that I work with and these organizations that are really, really doing good work. If I can get other people excited about them too—get them to come to a museum, come to a show—anything I can do to open the door and introduce people to these wonderful places.
“I keep learning and growing and finding new ways to do things and it’s a great feeling,” continues Jami. “I feel fortunate that I am able to do it, to juggle everything. That’s a blessing.”