The life of CCC Foundation Board member Jaswant (Jay) Singh Gill symbolizes the power of investing in education.
Though top of his class and possessing a brilliant mind, Jay’s family couldn’t afford his higher education. Thankfully, scholarships were there to help Jay through.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
In 1972, Jay moved to the United States with that education and $6 in his pocket, and worked at various companies before launching his own successful business in 1987.
And he never forgot how he got to where he is today.
Jay brought this full circle in December 2024. In front of 200 friends and family on the evening of his 80th birthday, Jay made a $250,000 gift to the CCC Foundation to support endowed scholarships.
“We should remember the path we’ve been through and how many others may be on the same path behind us,” Jay explained. “And once we cross that bridge, it’s always important to extend a helping hand for others to cross that same bridge, too.”
Jay’s Early Years
Jay Gill was born in 1944 in Gurdaspur, India, in the state of Punjab. He graduated at the top of his class for both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in pharmacy, receiving scholarship funds the entire time.
Immigrating to the United States in 1972, he went to New Jersey with only $6 in his pocket and worked odd jobs for six months before landing a job at Johnson and Johnson in the Personal Products Division. He worked a few other places before moving to California, where he landed a job at Shaklee Inc. in Hayward. In 1987, Jay started his own company with his sons, which went fully operational in 1989. As CEO, he grew the company from one to 100 employees and the company’s footprint from 2,500 sq. ft. to 81,000 sq. ft.
Jay’s wealth grew. In 2015, he decided that he was going to set up scholarships at the college in India where he received that free education.
“I also decided I should do something in the United States, too,” added Jay.
Jay believed that supporting community college students made sense. He had a friend Shamsher who was a statistics professor at Conta Costa College (CCC) at the time. Shamsher shared hard stories about students living in their cars and not having enough money to fix a flat tire. Sometimes students couldn’t’ purchase food.
Learning of this need, Jay decided to support CCC. “What better things can you do if you can’t help people in need with their education, who want to better their lives but just need an extra helping hand?”
Becoming a Part of the CCC Foundation
Jay made his first gift of $5,000 to the CCC Foundation in 2017 and attended the Scholarship Awards Ceremony where he witnessed students receiving their scholarships. Seeing how appreciative the students were, Jay continued to give each year.
Sara Marcellino, Executive Director of the CCC Foundation, invited Jay to lunch to discuss joining the Board of Directors. After the lunch and a longer conversation at the office of Board Chair, Eric Zell, Jay joined the Foundation Board.
Jay has been an incredibly valuable member of the CCC Foundation Board, giving of his time, ideas and resources.
Jay got involved in philanthropy after the loss of his beloved wife in 2014 from cancer. His wife had nothing on but Kaiser’s hospital gown when they took her to the morgue.
Jay never forgot this moment. “After seeing that, I realized that when a person dies, they leave with nothing. Absolutely nothing. This was a turning point for me”, he said.
“My wife and I had traveled all we wanted to, spent all we wanted to. We still could never spend all of what we made. So after her death I decided to help others, and education was the main area I wanted to impact.”
Jay believes that the CCC Foundation has changed a lot of lives “especially that time in 2021 when we paid off the debt for students who otherwise would have not been able graduate.”
“I have seen with my own eyes that the CCC Foundation is doing the right thing,” he explained. “I can see the progress already over the six years I have been on the Board. I believe the first year I was there, CCCF gave away $83,000 in scholarships and last year it was $323,000. To increase giving to students by four times in eight years is unbelievable progress! Also, I’ve seen our assets increase from $5 to $10 million, allowing us to support students in other ways, too.”
“We are doing something right,” explained Jay, “so why not make an impactful gift to the place I already believe in?”
The 80th Birthday Party and the $250,000 gift
Turning 80 felt like a milestone to Jay, so he decided to throw a party and invite 200 friends and family.
The party was not only celebratory and filled with love in the room – with pictures throughout marking important moments in Jay’s life, incredible food, dancers and music – it was educational for all who attended.
Jay told the story of his own personal life and wondered where he would be today had no helping hand been extended to him. “Being a top-notch student throughout my schooling, I still would not have been able to achieve my degrees if scholarships and tuition-free education was not available to me.”
Jay encouraged everyone in the room to give, to find a mission to be passionate about and donate money and time. He shared the story of losing his wife and the realization that you can accumulate wealth and material goods, but you can take none of it with you.
At the birthday party, Jay announced a new $250,000 gift to the CCC Foundation to create an endowment that will generate approximately $15,000 each year for student scholarships through the “Gill Family Educational Aid to Students Scholarship”. Executive Director Sara Marcellino accepted the gift on behalf of the Foundation.
Jay challenges his children and his community to do philanthropic work. He walks the talk. “I tell anyone who will listen to find a place where a small helping hand can make the largest difference.” Students at Contra Costa College will forever benefit from Jay’s helping hand.