Making a Difference

In long-term partnership with the Aesch Gemeinde, ISB raises funds to support programs that enhance the lives of students attending the Paalga School in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The money raised provides nutritious daily meals where CHF 5.50 provides lunch for a year to a child at school. A member of the Aesch Gemeinde visits ISB each year to talk about the project and tell students how the money was spent in support of other children.

Learn more about Burkina Faso.

On 16 April 1997, the non-governmental organization, BLANSAL, was founded by Dessy and Volker Nack. BLANSAL provides children living in the streets of Arequipa the opportunity of a new beginning. Some of the different projects support single mothers gain a source of income, teach prevention against sexual abuse of children, and by supporting the work of foster homes.The first project carried out by BLANSAL was social work with adolescents living in the streets of Arequipa. From this beginning, other projects were carried out with the objective of improving the lives of disadvantaged people.

Learn more about Casa Verde.

OeSA is a charitable organization that helps support refugees in the Basel area. Support is provided with clothing, food, raising awareness of the situation and concerns of asylum seekers, provide childcare, counseling. Through this organisation students are able to get real-life experiences as they support the refugee organisation. The hands-on experience involves activities ranging from language tutoring, cultural exchanges, to fundraising campaigns and awareness drives. The participatory engagement allows our students not only to learn about the challenges faced by refugees but also to actively contribute to their integration and support.

Learn more about OeSa.

What started with a school presentation in 2007 by then 9-year-old founder Felix Finkbeiner has grown into a global movement with an ambitious goal: to fight the climate crisis by planting trees around the world. More than 13.6 billion new trees have resulted from the organisation’s efforts – planted as a part of the Billion Tree Campaign, which has been handed over to Plant-for-the-Planet by the United Nations. Their goal has become more ambitious, the Trillion Tree Campaign! ISB wants to be part of these efforts.

Learn more about Planet-for-the-Planet.

Founded in 1888, the Swiss Red Cross is involved in a range of humanitarian social projects, at home and abroad, involving children of asylum seekers, people from other cultures, and people with disabilities among others. To aid their local and global reach, the ISB raises funds to purchase new toys, games, supplies for handicrafts, art and sewing/knitting supplies, and play group equipment for those in need alongside resources and books to teach German, very much needed locally.

Learn more about the Swiss Red Cross Basel

Funds raised support projects in Tanzania such as Roots and Shoots, local schools, and the Opendo orphanage in Moshi. ISB students and staff raise funds through CAS (Creativity-Activity-Service) projects and travel to Tanzania to work directly with students and educators. ISB students observe firsthand how the United Nations “Right to Education” initiative is not yet a worldwide reality.

Through the Terry Fox Foundation, ISB donates funds to the Swiss Pediatric Oncology Group. Money donated to SPOG aids the development of better treatment for children and adolescents with cancer. At SPOG, donations sustain the day-to-day care of children in treatment, coordination of ongoing study projects, organization of quality assurance, and managing regulatory requirements. Donations accelerate the implementation of new projects, eventually saving more lives and giving children with cancer a future.

Learn more about Terry Fox Foundation / Swiss Pediatric Oncology Group.

ThanksGiver Schweiz serves 900+ people each week in Muttenz Käppeli, Muttenz Dorf, Zwingen and Birsfelden. Patrons of this food bank must first sign up for this service through the Gemeinde, they will then receive a letter which qualifies them to receive food. ThanksGiver's main partner is the Schweizer Tafel, who provides most of the food for their two weekly food bank locations. ISB donates non-perishable food donations through their Giving Tree Donation Drive Appeals and contributes financial support for indicated projects.

ISB students aged 15 and older have the opportunity to volunteer at ThanksGiver after school. There, students provide manual labor toward preparing food, organizing parcels, and distributing nutritious offerings to clients. Additionally, the Senior School Service Club, with the help of parent volunteers, coordinates annually a very successful food drive in December and collects nearly 250 food parcels to be distributed during the holidays. Given that ThanksGiver is local to the Basel-area, ISB students directly see and feel the impact of their hands-on service, donation of goods, and donation of money, compared to engaging with charities in different countries and on different continents.

Learn more about ThanksGiver Schweiz

Human actions are destroying ecosystems as habitats are cleared for factories and agriculture, which is why ISB has decided to support this adoption programme which will go towards, among other initiatives, the doubling of tiger populations, stopping the ivory trade, protecting the thirty hills rainforest, and supporting individual animals in a critical state.

Learn more about Wildlife Conservation. 

The mission of ZeroWaste Switzerland association is to encourage long-lasting and significant waste reduction by raising awareness about problems connected to waste, by inspiring a change in consumer habits and by supporting a zero waste approach and anti-waste legislation in Switzerland.

Learn more about ZeroWaste Switzerland.