Profile: Goldman Sachs Senior Leader's Efforts with Nonprofit 'Fairy Bricks'

02 SEP 2016

Jason Granet, a managing director in London, is a trustee for Fairy Bricks—a Yorkshire-based charity whose mission is to brighten the lives of sick children through Lego. 

A lifelong fan of Lego, Jason learned of Fairy Bricks while attending the Brick 2014 convention with the eldest of his two young sons. Jason visited the charity’s website, and learned that Fairy Bricks raises money to purchase Lego sets in bulk and donate them to hospitals caring for sick children. He called the booth attendant he had met at the convention and started to get more involved with the organization. In 2015, he became a trustee of Fairy Bricks.

“Fairy Bricks is the perfect intersection of philanthropy and my passion for Lego and something I can get my wife and children involved in,” Jason said. “It’s good for my children to understand at an early age that not everyone has toys and that not everyone has their health.”

Jason’s main role as a trustee is to champion the charity’s mission and impact. Fairy Bricks raises awareness through social media, and fundraising activities. The charity also has a full calendar of Lego displays at museums and other venues across the UK, including Bricktastic, a flagship Lego show in Manchester attended by more than 5,000 people. The Fairy Bricks-sponsored event provides visibility to the nonprofit’s cause.

“Lego is not just any other toy, it challenges your imagination and you can build different things and use manual dexterity,” Jason said. “Our mission with Fairy Bricks is simple – to reach children in under-represented and under-funded hospitals.”

Fairy Bricks involves volunteers in the delivery of Lego sets to children in need. Last year, Jason delivered £2,000 worth of Lego with a group of 20 Goldman Sachs colleagues during a Community TeamWorks (CTW) project at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital. This year, a certified “Lego Serious Play” instructor, who uses Lego for corporate leadership training, joined Goldman Sachs volunteers at a school to teach leadership and professional skills to students. The students then went to Evelina hospital to deliver a donation of Lego and engage with children in the wards. A similar CTW project will be held in New York later this year.

Jason finds that his involvement with the charity has had a positive impact on him personally and professionally.

“It gives you a huge amount of perspective, it really level-sets you,” Jason explained. “It also has helped me learn to think like a trustee, which helps me better connect with clients and build stronger relationships with the trustees of funds.”