Friendship Foundation receives $1 million to expand its clubs in South Bay

The Friendship Foundation has received a financial boost — courtesy of Rep. Ted Lieu.

Lieu presented the 16-year-old organization — which promotes friendship between youth who are neurodivergent and their peers who volunteer their time, among other initiatives — with a $1 million check on Thursday, Feb. 16, at Mira Costa High School.

Mira Costa was the site of the foundation's first Friendship Club.

Since then, Friendship Clubs have expanded to 52 schools in Los Angeles County, as well as Bakersfield, and the states of Alabama, Arizona and Georgia.

The funding boost, which came from the congressional community Project Funding Grant, will help create additional Friendship Clubs within Lieu's 36th District.

"The federal government can't be everywhere nor should we be and we depend on Americans who want to do good things and do good work and nonprofits," Lieu said during the check presentation ceremony. "So what we can do is fund people who do good things, good work and nonprofits."

Yossi Mintz, cofounder of the Friendship Foundation and executive director of the soon-to-be constructed Friendship Campus, was on hand for the presentation.

"A group of people felt that every child and every student deserves to have a friend, regardless of what your background is," Mintz said about the Friendship Club's origin. "Everyone deserves to be a part of the tapestry of having a good time."

Also on hand at the event was Xan Saks, who graduated from Mira Costa 15 years ago and was the Friendship Club's first president. He was joined by former student participant Jacob Dominguez. They were part of the first eight students with developmental disabilities and 22 student volunteers who formed the first Friendship Club.

"I don't think your teachers want to hear this, but when I think back about my time in high school, to be honest, I don't remember much about the things I learned in class and those types of things," Saks, a Hermosa Beach resident, said. "But I remember a lot of the memories with my friends, the experiences we had. So the fact that you're involved in an organization that's mission is exactly that, to build bonds and friendships and connections, that's what will carry with you for the rest of your life."

The Friendship Foundation recently got the go-ahead to begin construction on its $55 million Friendship Campus, which is dedicated to job training for those who are neurodivergent.

The 64,000-square-foot Redondo Beach facility is being developed on 3.25 acres of land owned by the Redondo Beach Unified School District.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2025.

"Creating a culture of care is a primary goal of ours at the Manhattan Beach Unified School District," said MBUSD Superintendent John Bowes. "When I think about what that looks like in practice, I think about the Friendship Club and the Friendship Foundation."

The Friendship Foundation is one of five $1 million projects for which the congressmember recently announced federal funding. The others are:

• Hermosa Beach, which will create a mobile response center for those who are homeless and have mental health issues.
• Manhattan Beach, which will implement a safe cycling program.
• Torrance, which will use its money to continue its tiny homes village.
• The Boys & Girls Club of Los Angeles Harbor, which ill fortify its career and counseling program for college-bound students.

Those projects, Lieu said in a recent press release, "will help our community build a brighter future."