Friendship Campus Receives $5 Million Grant
Oct 14, 2021 11:01AM ● By Jeanne FratelloCampus To Provide Postsecondary Training
The Friendship Foundation campus will include a 64,000 square foot
facility to develop an engaging and inviting environment for the entire
community. Organizers will focus on serving the whole individual
with talent and skill building, personal growth and development programs,
social and emotional wellness, healthy lifestyle habits and physical fitness, and
job training and exploration programs. Technology, media, hospitality, retail, culinary, office,
education, trades, and landscaping are some of the initial vocational programs
planned.
A state-of-the-art studio will include training on digital
media such as graphic design, coding, and game design; visual arts such as
painting, photography, and filmmaking; craftwork such as woodwork and jewelry
making; and music such as songwriting, audio production and music mixing. The culinary arts department will feature a Friendship Café and Teaching Kitchen to give
students hands-on learning experience for training in hospitality and culinary
industry careers.
(Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Kelly Stroman has announced that she is stepping down from the chamber later this month to take on a new role as managing director of the new Friendship Foundation campus.)
The new Friendship Campus is
expected to cost $40 million. With this recent
donation from the Bhatia Family Foundation, $36.5 million of the budget has
been committed from private funding including Founding Donor Greenberg Family/Skechers;
Legacy Donor Harris and Linda Toibb; Founders Circle Donors Ted and
Claudette Schwartz and Josef and Chana Malka Gorowitz; and Visionary Donors:
Jon and Nicole Hirschberg, Mike and Rose Kaplan, Dr. Miriam and Dr. Ben
Landau, Paul and Georgia Solomon, and Margaret Haueisen. To see a full list
of donors, participate or learn more, please visit Friendship
Campus (friendshipfoundation.com).
Foundations Work to Enrich Educational Opportunities
The Friendship Foundation is dedicated to building an
integrated, accepting and unified community for children and young adults.
It was founded 15 years ago by Yossi Mintz with the goal of providing
neurodiverse children with those with varying abilities the same advantages as
their peers to enjoy and experience life. The organization has developed
programs that allow all children to play, grow, develop and thrive together.
The success and growing demand from the Friendship Foundation’s existing programs have
expanded the vision to include a new campus centered around turning
special needs into special contributions to society.
The Ramesh and Kalpana Bhatia Family Foundation, founded in
2006, is a private family foundation established by Ramesh and Kalpana Bhatia.
The foundation is dedicated to making an impactful change around the world by
funding innovative solutions and programs that enrich communities and serve the
common good. The foundation’s grant making focuses on local, national, and
international organizations that support medical & healthcare research,
education, mental health, intellectual and physical diversities, human rights
& social justice, women & girls’ empowerment, and emergency
responses.