Jay Garant is a fisherman. At least that is how he jokingly refers to himself at work.
“I like to tell people I’m the school system’s fisherman and I fish on what I call “Lake Fortunate.” I call it that because I don’t need or use a fishing pole as the fish are jumping into our boat,” he said with a laugh.
The fish he’s referring to are the generous community and businesses that partner with Fairfax County Public Schools through the division's Business and Community Partnerships office, which he leads.
The Business and Community Partnerships main function is to recruit, and support Ignite Partnerships-a high value, long-term relationship between a business, not-for-profit, or government entity and Fairfax County Public Schools.
Like any good fisherman, Jay is always searching for a good catch: those organizations who can offer a long-term, capacity building relationship with the division.
The self-proclaimed FCPS fisherman also considers himself a “FRIENDraiser,” because his job is to make connections and bring people together. He said it makes it more fun to set up a partnership or a donation with “friends” and in his job he’s regularly meeting new ones.
“I always saw my part as a ‘FRIENDraiser,’” he said. “A FRIENDraiser who is trying to manage the overwhelming generosity that is coming at us - and it comes in so many different forms.”
Some of those generous ways come by way of the Business and Community Partnerships office’s donation portal, which Jay helped create. It’s a way to manage all the in-kind donations, such as cars, pianos, furniture, medical supplies and even a Ford Model-T and the skull of a heifer cow – true stories!
Finding A Spark With Ignite Partnerships
Jay explained that when he is approached by a business to create an Ignite Partnership, they look at eight areas of engagement, and then do some triage to see if the potential partner can meet specific engagement thresholds:
Mentoring partnerships
Tutoring partnerships
Needs-based donation partnerships
Workforce development partnerships (including STEM and STEAM)
Arts partnerships
Get2Green (Environmental) partnerships
Health and wellness partnerships
Give to Educate Fairfax- a 501 (c)(3) non-profit education foundation that builds partnerships and raises money to support students and educators and schools within the division.
“I do a lot of work to prepare that fish, and in the end, I try to hand the school team a fish that is wrapped in tin foil, deboned, prepared with the right spices and ready for them to introduce into their programs with a recipe,” he said.
The Ignite Partnerships are for all students, but “Our savvy community,” he says, “regularly and wisely aim to help students who wouldn’t have the opportunity otherwise and tend to target schools with high poverty rates.”
Some partnerships have been around for decades, including one with Capital One. Now in its 24th year and 10 years with their Capital One Coders program. This year that program supports students at four FCPS middle schools teaching students how to code.
Jay said the company is now offering stipends through a grant to pay teachers involved in the coding program at the four schools for their extra time.
The 10-week program ends with each student that completed the course receiving a free laptop at an awards night where students are recognized for their work in categories like most visual, most efficient coding and crowd favorite.
Another partnership with a locally grown not-for-profit called EduTutorVA offers high impact tutoring in literacy and math to elementary and middle school students at no cost.
Jay said the tutors are college students interested in becoming teachers and they hail from almost every college or university in Virginia. According to Jay, “The Tutors to Teachers element of the EduTutorVA partnership really sets it apart.”
Other partnerships include the recent donation of a flight simulator by Airbus, multiple food organizations that work to feed thousands of students, paid internships for high schoolers, financial literacy training for middle schoolers and the donations of cars by dealerships and other organizations which land in the auto tech programs for students to get hands-on mechanics and auto body training.
He estimates they have received more than 400 cars through the years.
“They all come to me saying they want to support students in FCPS,” he said, adding that it is humbling to see how generous the community is. “See it all has made me give more, and I’m not kidding.”
In his 17 years working as the director of the Business and Community Partnerships office, Jay estimates he’s helped bring to FCPS more than $25 million worth of goods, services, volunteer hours and cash to the division.
“It’s not just me, though,” he insisted. “I don’t work as a lone wolf, I’m an office of one, but I have to lean on others to pull this off.”
Deep Roots With Fairfax County Public Schools
Jay’s motivation to benefit FCPS students doesn’t just stem from his 31 years as a division employee, but also from his deep-rooted love of the county where he was born and raised.
He attended Hunt Valley Elementary School in Burke, then Orange Hunt Elementary School in Springfield-which was brand new at the time-then graduated with the class of 1982 from Lake Braddock Secondary School.
“FCPS rocks! As a graduate, the bottom line is, I love my school system,” he said. Garant is a proud FCPS Alumni!
One Last Ask
As Jay embarks on his next journey – retirement – Jay isn’t quite done working for the students of FCPS.
In fact, he’s making a shift from FRIENDraiser to FUNDraiser for one Final Ask!
Garant is asking for donations to Educate Fairfax to create a Transportation Fund for students to get to and from workforce development opportunities like internships.
“Few things have frustrated and disappointed me more than seeing a student miss out on critical opportunities to participate in work-based tours, internships, externships, or apprenticeships and clinical experiences because they lacked transportation.”
The Transportation Fund will make sure every student, regardless of their circumstances, can access these opportunities.
“Rarely during my career, have I asked for a monetary donation-focusing instead on ways of getting our generous community involved with students through meaningful volunteerism.”
“As I wrap up this rewarding career – and just this once – I’m shifting from FRIENDraiser to FUNDraiser,” he said.
Donations can be made to Educate Fairfax, which guarantees 100% of the donation will directly go to the transportation fund.
“Fairfax will always have more than a piece of my heart,” he said.
To donate in support of Educate Fairfax’s new Transportation Fund, please give here: