Skechers Pier to Pier Walk seeds special needs programs
by Kevin Cody
Skechers CEO Michael Greenberg stood on a stage with legendary welterweight champion Sugar Ray Leonard, and fitness trainer Brooke Burke at the foot of the Manhattan Beach pier Sunday morning. Surrounding the stage were 22,000 registrants for the 16th Annual Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship walk.
“America’s Got Talent” singer Madison Taylor Baez had just quieted the restless crowd with an acapella performance of the National Anthem.
Manhattan Beach Mayor Joe Franklin, Councilmember David Lessor and City Treasurer Tim Lilligrin welcome participants in the 16th Annual Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk. Photo by Kevin Cody
Greenberg founded the walk with Rabbi Yossi Mintz in 2009 to raise money for Rabbi Mintz’s Friendship Circles. The innovative program helped high school special needs students socialize with their classmates.
The first walk went well. Over 1,200 people participated, raising $220,000. Since then the walk has raised over $20 million, making it the largest special needs fundraiser in California, and possibly the nation.
The walk has become such a spectacle, with its celebrity appearances, live music, swag bags and and sponsor booths, that when, finally, Greenberg addressed the crowd he felt compelled to remind walkers of their purpose in being there.
Brooke Burke and Sugar Ray Leonard rally the walkers.
On his early morning walk that day, Greenberg said, he saw a neighbor leave his house carrying an apple, a granola bar and a coffee. The neighbor walked up to a man who clearly didn’t live in the neighborhood, and gave his apple, granola bar and coffee to the stranger. They talked for a few minutes, and then the neighbor returned home.
“Seeing what my neighbor did brought me back to why we are all here this morning,” Greenberg said.
“Sometimes, we’re so involved in the walk, we forget its broader impact,” he added.
Then Greenberg invited Jakob Dominguez to join him on the stage. Dominguez was a special needs student at Mira Costa High School in 2009, the year Rabbi Mintz founded the first Friendship Circle. Since then, Friendship Circles have spread to high schools through the South Bay.
The Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk has raised over $8 million to help fund the Friendship Circles.
Skechers CEO Michael Greenburg recognizes Mira Costa Senior Henry Jones as the Friendship Foundation Volunteer of the Year. Looking on is April, an actress in Sponge Bob.
Another consequence of the walk is the fulfillment of Rabbi Mintz’s vision for a vocational school for students like Dominguez. The walk provided seed money for construction of the $50 million Friendship Campus in South Redondo. It is scheduled to begin offering vocational training to special needs students next fall.
In addition to raising money for the Friendship Foundation, the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship walk has raised over $2 million for each of the education foundations in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo, Palos Verdes and Torrance.
For more about the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk, visit SkechersFriendshipWalk.com. ER