The Pestalozzi Foundation

The Pestalozzi Foundation was founded in 1961 with the objective of supporting adolescents in Swiss mountain and peripheral regions with scholarships, and with the objective of enabling them to access high-quality education. The Pestalozzi Foundation has been pursuing this goal to this day, and as such, they promote students’ talents and abilities, investing sustainably in Switzerland’s future. Unlike adolescents who grow up in cities or metropolitan areas, adolescents in Swiss mountain regions have to live away from home during their studies, which creates high costs for housing, food and travel. These additional expenses are only partly covered by government scholarships and place a great strain on the family budget.

In 2011, 50 years after the foundation’s formation and in line with Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi’s principle of providing children with access to education from an early age, the board of trustees decided to promote equal opportunity and to commit themselves to the cause of early intervention in mountain regions. Since 2013, the Pestalozzi Foundation has been imparting the early intervention award to institutions in Swiss mountain regions including 20’000 CHF in prize money.

The Pestalozzi Foundation is funded via donations as well as legates over the yields stemming from funds during good years. Over the last few years, the foundation has supported over 310 adolescents and young adults per year.

Involvement as a Foundation Council Member
The board of trustees is the foundation’s primary institution of authority. It is comprised of personalities from economic, educational, political and cultural sectors, and it is made up of at least 20 members. Their commitment is voluntary. Dominique Brustlein was voted into the Pestalozzi Foundation’s board of trustees in 2012. She is involved in fundraising and is an excellent ambassador for the Pestalozzi Foundation’s purposes in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

Annexe: Exercice 2020

Website: www.pestalozzi-stiftung.ch