Rabbi Yossi Mintz
Co-Founder / Executive Director
Friendship Foundation
Rabbi Yossi Mintz is a renowned communal leader, spiritual guide, and co-founder of the Friendship Foundation, originally known as The Friendship Circle. Born in Brooklyn N.Y. he studied in prestigious Rabbinical Colleges in Brooklyn and Florida before receiving his Rabbinical Ordination with honors. Upon moving to the South Bay of Los Angeles with his wife Sara in 1995, Rabbi Yossi established the Jewish Community Center of the South Bay which quickly grew into the largest Community Center of its kind in the area. Together they have 5 children.
Rabbi Yossi has always had a unique place in his heart for children with special needs,leading him to establish the Friendship Circle (now, Foundation) in 2007, an organization that provides for children and families living with special needs. He strongly believes that every child and young adult deserves equal access to education and the opportunity to develop their unique ability and place in society. Rabbi Yossi Mintz serves as the Executive Director of the Friendship Foundation. Through his leadership the organization has grown from serving 8 individuals with special needs and 22 volunteers,to over 5,000 participants and volunteers combined.Â
The Friendship Foundation has Friendship School Clubs in over 72 public schoolsthroughout Los Angeles County (and 2 other states), including 21 different school districts. In addition, the foundation offers over 60 programs a month for ages 8-35+. The annual Skechers Pier 2 Pier Friendship Walk, in partnership with the Skechers Foundation, is the largest such event in California, bringing together over 20,000+ children and adults of all backgrounds to walk for inclusion, friendship, mentoring, and anti-bullying. Since the inception of the walk, in 2014, over $25 Million has been donated to public schools and the Friendship Foundation.
Mintz is also the visionary behind the Friendship Campus, a $55 Million campus in Southern California that broke ground in August of 2022 and will open in Fall 2025. The Friendship Campus will be a home away from home for all teens and young adults as a space for children and young adults to come together regardless of their background or challenges that they face. The programming for the new campus is being developed to
be a safe and inspirational place where children and young adults on the spectrum will engage with others to develop life skills, interpersonal relations, personal interests, vocational training and gain a career in the mainstream workforce.
Learn more about the Friendship Foundation and Campus at friendshipfoundation.com.
