Laureus Sport for Good Foundation

NATIONAL
FOUNDATION
REPORT
24
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This was an important inaugural year for
Laureus Foundation Switzerland – it was
launched offi cially and selected three projects
for funding.
In the fi rst year of its existence, Laureus Foundation Switzerland decided to
support three projects, two in Switzerland and one in Africa. The fi rst Swiss
project, Blindspot, aims to break down barriers between sight-impaired and
sighted young people through activities such as snowboarding and rock
climbing. The second, buntkicktgut, is a public, multi-racial street football
league that aims to use the power of sport to encourage the integration of
young migrants throughout Switzerland. The third project, MYSA in Kenya,
nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 and 2004, is a football league
of more than 1 000 teams where youngsters are encouraged to raise their
self-esteem and improve their health and well-being.
The Foundation hosted a press conference on 15th June in Zurich. This
was an opportunity to raise awareness for the new Foundation highlighting
its goals, mission and vision. Chairman of the Laureus Sport for Good
Foundation, Edwin Moses, and Laureus World Sports Academy members,
Boris Becker and Ilie Nastase, were among the special guests. Respective
project leaders of the supported projects introduced their organisations to
the media and gave an overview of their methodology and the background
of the young people with whom they interact. Friends & Ambassadors,
Alain Sutter, Edith Hunkeler and Marc Rosset were amongst others who
committed themselves to the mission of Laureus Foundation Switzerland.
Following the press conference, the fi rst charity dinner was held at the
Park Hyatt in Zurich. Once again, the three projects were introduced to
guests by the project leaders. From a fundraising perspective, the gala
generated over CHF120 000 (€74 000) through a silent auction with
items donated by Academy members and Swiss Friends & Ambassadors.
The gala dinner had the invaluable presence of Academy members Edwin
Moses, Boris Becker and Ilie Nastase accompanied by the Swiss Friends &
Ambassadors. This event had good media coverage which promoted the
work of the newly established Foundation.
In October, the Foundation organised the fi rst visit to the buntkicktgut
project attending the fi nal of the football tournament which took place in
Zurich. Friend & Ambassador, Alain Sutter, attended the visit and interacted
with the participants, played football with them and gave them some
advice. This inspirational event was a success and participants learnt many
valuable lessons.
The Swiss Foundation is proud of its growth in 2007 and is looking
forward to continuing with it during 2008.
L A U R E U S S P O R T F O R G O O D F O U N D A T I O N A N N U A L R E V I E W