The Jester & Pharley Phund is dedicated
to providing educational experiences
that give every child
a sense of hope,
a feeling of self-empowerment,
a love of learning,
the joy of laughter,
and the desire to live up to
The Jester & Pharley's motto:

"It's up to us to make a difference. It's up to us to care." ©

This message from David Saltzman's book "The Jester Has Lost His Jingle" spells out the underlying philosophy of The Jester & Pharley Phund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with a vital and powerful educational mission, which has its genesis in David's book.

Dying of Hodgkin's disease at the age of 22, David had a key wish: To get his message of hope, love, laughter and charity to children around the world who needed to find their smiles.

It didn't matter to David what challenged these children - a life-threatening disease, a chronic illness, an environment of hopelessness, a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, an abusive situation, lack of skills to read and write, or even just a bad day at school.

David wanted to reach out to these youngsters to offer them personal encouragement. He wanted them to know that no obstacle is too difficult to overcome and how important it is to never give up.

David knew that his creations,
The Jester & Pharley, were always there to help him and that their message

"So when you're feeling lonely
or sad
or bad
or blue,
remember where laughter's hiding…
It's hiding inside of YOU!"©

could give a child new, healing, empowering hope.

The Jester Co., Inc. was created in 1994 to publish David's book and make it available to children who needed to find their smiles.

During the early years, to ensure the publication of "The Jester Has Lost His Jingle" and the creation of a companion Jester & Pharley Doll, the Saltzmans dedicated all their personal resources and galvanized their wide circle of friends. The first printing of 30,000 books included 10,000 earmarked for distribution free-of-charge to every child in the country who would be diagnosed with cancer. Now, with nearly 300,000 books in circulation, more than 45,000 Jester books and 45,000 Jester & Pharley Dolls have been donated to ill and special-needs children and literacy programs across the United States.

But that is only the beginning. The need continues to grow for The Jester & Pharley's message of hope.
Schools, hospitals, libraries, juvenile facilities, foster care programs, hospices, centers for abused women and children, homeless shelters and many other organizations who help physically and emotionally challenged children and adults continue to benefit from The Jester & Pharley.

With your help, The Jester & Pharley Phund's medical, literacy & outreach and special-needs programs will continue to bring hope and joy into the lives of hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged, ill and hurting children.

©Copyright 1995, 2002 and 2008 by The Jester Co., Inc. Used With Permission. All Rights Reserved.