Judd Zebersky’s departure from Jazwares in March 2026 closed a chapter that began in 1997 when he left a law practice, flew to China, and started teaching himself to make toys. The company he built over those 29 years is now among the world’s leading toy brands. The giving programs he built alongside it are equally enduring.
What He Built and Why
Zebersky established Jazwares Cares at the company’s founding, before it was clear the business would survive. Over the decades that followed, the program grew to include toy donations to hospitals and nonprofits, an Adopt-a-School initiative targeting Title I schools, employee volunteer hours, and partnerships with Make-A-Wish, Toys for Tots, Ronald McDonald House, and others. “Putting a smile on children’s faces is at the heart of everything we do,” Judd Zebersky said when discussing Jazwares’ 2025 donation initiatives. That statement held as a consistent thread across three decades of building programs rather than simply writing checks.
The Legacy in Numbers
Judd Zebersky philanthropic record includes a $2 million donation to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, contributing to an expansion that doubled the facility’s floor count. More than 100 Make-A-Wish grants were funded personally by Judd Zebersky and Laura Zebersky, who chaired the Make-A-Wish Southern Florida board starting in 2022. The couple helped raise over $5 million at the Make-A-Wish Ball in Miami. Jazwares donated more than 10,000 Squishmallows to Make-A-Wish chapters across North America. David Neustein, who had served as COO for 14 years, assumed the CEO role on March 23, 2026. The giving infrastructure Judd Zebersky built over nearly three decades, the hospital relationships, the school programs, the volunteer policies, stays in place. Refer to this article for related information.
More about Judd Zebersky https://www.jazwares.com/about-us/leadership
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Judd Zebersky’s departure from Jazwares in March 2026 closed a chapter that began in 1997 when he left a law practice, flew to China, and started teaching himself to make toys. The company he built over those 29 years is now among the world’s leading toy brands. The giving programs he built alongside it are equally enduring.
What He Built and Why
Zebersky established Jazwares Cares at the company’s founding, before it was clear the business would survive. Over the decades that followed, the program grew to include toy donations to hospitals and nonprofits, an Adopt-a-School initiative targeting Title I schools, employee volunteer hours, and partnerships with Make-A-Wish, Toys for Tots, Ronald McDonald House, and others. “Putting a smile on children’s faces is at the heart of everything we do,” Judd Zebersky said when discussing Jazwares’ 2025 donation initiatives. That statement held as a consistent thread across three decades of building programs rather than simply writing checks.
The Legacy in Numbers
Judd Zebersky philanthropic record includes a $2 million donation to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, contributing to an expansion that doubled the facility’s floor count. More than 100 Make-A-Wish grants were funded personally by Judd Zebersky and Laura Zebersky, who chaired the Make-A-Wish Southern Florida board starting in 2022. The couple helped raise over $5 million at the Make-A-Wish Ball in Miami. Jazwares donated more than 10,000 Squishmallows to Make-A-Wish chapters across North America. David Neustein, who had served as COO for 14 years, assumed the CEO role on March 23, 2026. The giving infrastructure Judd Zebersky built over nearly three decades, the hospital relationships, the school programs, the volunteer policies, stays in place. Refer to this article for related information.
More about Judd Zebersky https://www.jazwares.com/about-us/leadership