ZABS Place Receives $500,000 Gift in Honor of Sam Ebersman

Charlotte Jewish News, March, 2025

By Charlie Gale

Sam’s Fund, a foundation established by Sam Ebersman’s parents, recently made a generous contribution of $500,000 to ZABS Place to provide training for candidates in its job training and job placement program. The fund’s purpose is to honor Sam by helping young adults with developmental challenges build lives with purpose and meaning.

Sam's Fund was created to honor Sam Ebersman, a kind and caring young man with an infectious appetite for life and a strong desire to connect with others. Sam's Fund helps young adults with developmental challenges find social support and learn the job skills they need to become thriving members of society, honoring Sam by helping them build lives with purpose and meaning.

ZABS Place, established more than 10 years ago in downtown Matthews, North Carolina, is more than just a nonprofit thrift boutique — it's a transformative stepping stone for young adults with special talents. The organization's mission centers on helping individuals with disabilities identify their unique abilities and develop practical skills that enable them to become contributing members of the community. Through personalized training and support, ZABS Place has successfully helped hundreds of young adults discover and pursue their career dreams.

The creation of the Sam Ebersman Talent Accelerator Program comes at a critical time. In North Carolina, an alarming 80.7% of individuals with disabilities are currently unemployed. This challenging statistic is particularly pronounced for those with intellectual or developmental differences, who often face multiple barriers to employment. These barriers include limited job opportunities that match their skills and interests, misconceptions about their abilities, and workplace environments that may not accommodate their needs.

The Talent Accelerator Program aims to address these challenges head-on. With the $500,000 donation, ZABS Place is expanding its capacity by hiring a director of training and employment and adding more job coaches to its team. This expansion will enable the organization to train up to 100 young adults annually – significantly increasing their ability to serve the community. The program will focus on breaking the "catch-22" that many individuals with disabilities face: the difficulty of gaining work experience without prior job experience.

What sets ZABS Place apart is its commitment to matching individuals with roles that align with their talents and interests, rather than simply placing them in available positions. The organization works closely with a network of local businesses dedicated to helping ZABS participants develop their special talents and advance their careers. This approach has proven successful in creating lasting employment opportunities that benefit both individuals and their employers.

In the time ZABS Place has been in operation, it has provided training for hundreds of young people. The Sam Ebersman Talent Accelerator Program will provide support and opportunity to hundreds more in the years to come. ZABS is extraordinarily grateful to the Ebersman family and everyone who contributed to Sam's Fund.

ZABS Place is a project of Chabad of Charlotte and a beneficiary organization of Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte.