The 3.25-acre campus, centered around a state-of-the-art 64,000-square-foot facility, aims to create a multi-faceted center that will offer a full range of postsecondary training for intellectually and physically diverse students.

The Greenberg Family/Skechers Center, as it is being called, is expected to be completed in 2024 at a cost of $55 million. It will serve as the headquarters for Friendship Foundation’s 50-plus programs, as well as for a transition program for the Redondo Beach Unified School District and other postsecondary vocational programs.

Although the facility itself is located in Redondo Beach, it has deep roots in Manhattan Beach. The Friendship Foundation began in Manhattan Beach, and its lead donors include Skechers and the Greenberg family of Manhattan Beach.

The idea of the Friendship Campus has been a long-held dream of the Friendship Foundation and its supporters. The brainchild of the Friendship Foundation co-founder Yossi Mintz, the educational and vocational campus is designed to serve "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.

“This campus groundbreaking is the culmination of years – decades really – of dreams, plans and a lot of hard work from our team and our amazing community of supporters and donors,” said Mintz. “We’ve seen firsthand how capable young adults on the autism spectrum or with other intellectual or physical differences have very few options for education and employment after high school. These are smart, capable individuals who can succeed and have fulfilling careers with the right training and ongoing support. We hope the Friendship Campus will be a model that can be duplicated across the country.”

Some of the initial vocational programs planned include technology, media, hospitality, retail, culinary, office, education, trades, and gardening.

 

A state-of-the-art studio will include training on digital media such as graphic design, coding, and game design. The culinary arts program will include a "Friendship Café" and teaching
kitchen to give students hands-on learning experience for training in hospitality and culinary industry careers.

 

Additionally, a Financial Empowerment Academy will introduce life-skills financial literacy to use daily and as individuals gaining independence in society.

The programs are essential, said Stroman, because although there are large numbers of students with diverse and special needs in K-12 schools (almost 200,000 students are enrolled in special education in Los Angeles County alone), an estimated 8 in 10 American adults with disabilities are unemployed.

However, noted Stroman, many adults with disabilities have the potential to become "phenomenal" employees. "When trained in the proper workspace, adults with disabilities have a 92 percent retention rate in their jobs," she said.

The campus aims to further integrate the greater community by offering recreational activities such as basketball, volleyball, rock climbing, pickleball, dance, yoga, meditation, martial arts, social programming.

The project is being privately funded. Aside from the Greenberg family, lead donors include Legacy Donors The Ramesh and Kalpana Bhatia Family Foundation, Harris and Linda Toibb, Mike and Rose Kaplan, Charlie and Jo Ann Kaplan; Founders Circle Donors Ted and Claudette Schwartz and Yosef and Chana Malka Gorowitz; and Visionary Donors Joe and Fay Czyzyk, Margaret and Captain Joe Lee Frank, Jon and Nicole Hirschberg, Joel E. Jacob, Dr. Miriam and Dr. Ben Landau; Yael Roth, Paul and Georgia Solomon, and Windsong Trust; among others.

The foundation began with eight children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, paired with 22 teen volunteers who met once per month on a Sunday afternoon in Manhattan Beach. At each “Sunday Circle," the group would gather to hang out and socialize while playing games, singing songs and enjoying a variety of interactive entertainment.

Soon thereafter, several of the teens took this concept to their high schools and established school-sanctioned clubs at Mira Costa High School, Palos Verdes High School, and Redondo Union High School.

Today, there are more than 36 Friendship School Clubs throughout the South Bay at elementary, middle, and high school levels in public, private, and charter schools - and at every school in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District.

In addition to the Friendship School Clubs, the foundation offers social and recreational programs six days per week, year-round, serving more than 2,500 students annually.