Zurich, Switzerland -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2014 -- The Swiss Youthship Foundation, a non profit charity dedicated to getting youth off the streets, has just launched a fundraiser on Indiegogo. The non profit organisation is aiming to raise enough money to purchase the Salomon, a three-mast-topsail-schooner sailing ship that it has managed since 2008.
As a spokesperson for the Swiss Youthship Foundation explained, the organisation takes care of adolescent boys from the ages of 12 to 17 who have been kicked out from several other institutions and/or schools. In some cases, they have also been fired from jobs, have been asked to leave home, and in some cases they are living on the streets. To change their problematic social development and build up a new perspective on life, the boys need a narrow pedagogical framework—which is exactly what they find while living on the Salomon.
“On the Salomon they find a new home and can often rebuild self-esteem to a stable amount, have a safe place to learn new behavioral manners and/or find a new sense of life,” the spokesperson for the Swiss Youthship Foundation noted.
“Our upbringing is warmhearted and guiding but also clearly defined by structures, regulations, hierarchies and authorities brought to us by the nautical way of life. We accept everyone’s belief and have no kind of religious intentions - although our Swiss laws that are in effect on our ship as we sail under the Swiss flag are based on Christian democratic beliefs.”
As a movie on the foundation explained, the “Jugendschiffe Schweiz” wants to help young boys who do not conform to social norms and are in a difficult and often hopeless situation. To use the schooner ship has always required signing a very expensive rental contract. Since the organisation no longer has the necessary funds to pay the high rent or purchase the Salomon outright, the foundation decided to launch a fundraiser on Indiegogo to get the funds they need to buy their much-loved ship.
“Looking for another vessel not only would be a rather sad alternative - it might also cripple our finances to a point we might have to close our project,” the spokesperson said, adding that by donating through Indiegogo, people can become a part of the foundation’s “crew” and help to continue the much-needed support for young adolescent boys with serious behavioral issues.
“Help us get together the money we need so we and the boys can actually stay on our by now beloved Ship - the SALOMON.”
About the Swiss Youthship Foundation
Since 2008 the Swiss Youthship Foundation non-profit organisation has managed the three-mast-topsail-schooner sailing ship called Salomon. The “Jugendschiffe Schweiz” foundation aims to help young people who do not conform to social norms and are often homeless and without hope. For more information, please visit http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-us-buy-the-salomon