Bob and Francine Barrett, Barrett Family Foundation
Inspiring Partnerships
Philanthropists Bob and Francine Barrett share the inspiration behind the Barrett Family Foundation’s support of Trees for Life.
What inspires your passion for Trees?
I was born at a time when our parents encouraged us to climb trees. Some of my fondest memories include tapping the maples on our property and sugaring off. They didn’t make much syrup, but it was a big event nonetheless. I believe that growing up in the forests and working on the farms around my boyhood home has influenced my values and built a deep respect for nature that is hard to define.
What do you see as our greatest strength in working with the Barret Family Foundation to achieve a better future?
BFF is committed to making the planet safer and more productive for future generations. Planting trees is an efficient way to clean the air, keep people healthy and beautify local communities.
Two of our foundation’s core values are collaboration and amplifying funding. We like how Trees for Life connects other ENGO’s, private donors, government, and corporations to enhance the work of community-led tree planting groups. To inspire others to give, we offer a 1:1 match. It makes us incredibly happy to know that to date, our $650K commitment has been matched and in some cases, Trees for Life has delivered a 4x return on our investment. That’s value and it's why we've pledged an additional $1.4 million through 2028.
Building trust is key to success in life. Francine and I trust in the leaders of Trees for Life to accomplish what they set out to do, to use our money effectively and with successful outcomes. The Highway of Heroes is proof of this vision that has become a reality. BFF wants to work with charities that have leadership teams with a passion and the ability to work with multi-million-dollar gifts. There is no one we know with more determination and passion for planting trees than Mark Cullen and the TFL team.
My dad taught us to be risk takers, to understand risk, evaluate it and make decisions. Climate change is a huge risk to our future and we want to do all we can to address it.
How does working with Trees for Life support Polytainer’s corporate culture?
Polytainer’s role in food security is important but we recognize there is an environmental impact to our business. Supporting TFL aligns with our corporate values and our customers’ environmental, social, and governance philosophies. Many of our customers are leaders in our sector’s approach to sustainability.
Our employees tell us they appreciate our giving back to the community. The donations to TFL are just one of many ways we do this. We were pleased to learn that the trees planted through our gifts to Trees for Life are offsetting the annual vehicle carbon footprint of the people working at our Canadian plant. That’s important to share and meaningful to us all.