Since 1946, Swiss Solidarity has connected people who want to help with people in need.
This year, we are celebrating our 80th anniversary. It is an opportunity to look back on 80 years of solidarity: moving stories, extraordinary aid campaigns and the millions of people who, together, have helped bring hope and tangible support to those in need. Discover the history of Swiss Solidarity, the people behind this solidarity and the events that have shaped eight decades of commitment.
Almost four decades after its creation, Swiss Solidarity became an independent foundation.
At the same time, it remained closely linked to SRG SSR, whose channels broadcast its appeals for solidarity in all linguistic regions of Switzerland. Monetary donations gradually replaced donations in kind, making it possible to provide professional support for aid projects in Switzerland and around the world.
Swiss Solidarity raised CHF 49.9 million to support people affected by the war in Kosovo.
In the same year, it was awarded the International Human Rights Award in recognition of its humanitarian work, particularly its assistance to people affected by the conflict in Kosovo.
Devastating storms struck Valais and Ticino, leaving a trail of destruction behind them.
People in Switzerland responded with great solidarity, donating 74 million francs – the third-largest fundraising campaign in Swiss Solidarity’s history. This support enabled reconstruction in particularly affected municipalities such as Gondo and Baltschieder and helped many other people impacted by the disaster in Switzerland and neighbouring regions.
On 26 December 2004, a devastating tsunami struck large parts of South-East Asia.
The images of the disaster sparked extraordinary solidarity across Switzerland. With more than 227 million francs in donations, Swiss Solidarity raised the largest amount in its history and enabled long-term support for millions of people affected.
A devastating earthquake struck Haiti, triggering a major humanitarian disaster.
With CHF 66.7 million raised, Swiss Solidarity provided emergency relief and contributed to long-term recovery and reconstruction.
The coronavirus pandemic affected Switzerland and the entire world.
Swiss Solidarity supported people who had fallen into financial or social hardship because of the crisis, while also funding aid projects in countries particularly affected. The pandemic showed how essential solidarity remains, even in a global crisis.
The war in Ukraine caused shock and sparked an extraordinary wave of solidarity.
With more than 140 million francs in donations, Swiss Solidarity organized the second-largest fundraising campaign in its history. The support reached millions of people in Ukraine, in neighbouring countries and in Switzerland.
The massive landslide that destroyed almost the entire village of Blatten in the canton of Valais deeply affected Switzerland and sparked an extraordinary outpouring of solidarity.
With CHF 23 million raised, Swiss Solidarity provided immediate assistance to those affected and continues to support them over the long term.
For 80 years, Swiss Solidarity has connected people who want to help with people in need.
Together with the public, the media and its partner organisations, it has repeatedly turned solidarity into tangible support. This anniversary is an opportunity to look back on this history – and to shape the future together.
80 years of solidarity
For 80 years, Swiss Solidarity has connected people who want to help with people in need. Together with the public, the media and its partner organisations, it has repeatedly turned solidarity into tangible support.
This anniversary is an opportunity to look back on this history – and to shape the future together.
“When I was a little girl in the 1970s, we had an Italian neighbour we were very close to. We all called her La Nonna. She was already elderly and had never been able to go on holiday because she simply couldn’t afford it. One day, during one of our visits, she told us that Swiss Solidarity had offered her and other retired people in need a one-week holiday in the Balearic Islands! She still had stars in her eyes when she spoke about it and felt such deep gratitude towards Swiss Solidarity. I’m retired myself today, but I have never forgotten La Nonna and her story… nor Swiss Solidarity!”
In 1975, the “Air Bonheur” initiative enabled hundreds of retired people who had never been able to afford a holiday abroad to see the sea for the very first time in Mallorca. Relive this remarkable adventure in the video above.
“My mother used to tell me that, when she was a child, she and her classmates in Basel spent hours knitting clothes together for a Swiss Solidarity collection. All those clothes were sent to the Netherlands to help the thousands of people who had lost their homes and all their belongings during the devastating floods of 1953, in the middle of winter. It’s incredible to think that today we can help people simply by making a donation with just one click. What a change!”
In its early years, Swiss Solidarity organised collections of donated goods such as food and clothing, sometimes even handmade by donors, as shown in the photo above. Since the 1980s, cash donations have made it possible to respond to crises more quickly and professionally. One thing, however, has remained unchanged: today, just as 80 years ago, every act of solidarity counts.
Yann experienced this first-hand when the Rhône floods severely affected the Sous-Géronde neighbourhood in Sierre. Overnight, he lost everything. Thanks to Swiss Solidarity’s support, he was able to cope with the immediate emergency. But what touched him most was the solidarity shown by people from all over Switzerland: “We really felt that outpouring of solidarity. It meant so much to know that, even here in Valais, in our small town, people from Zurich, Geneva and all across Switzerland were thinking of us.”
Sometimes, it all comes down to the right moment. Test your reaction time and find out how quickly you respond when an appeal for solidarity appears.
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