Children explore cultural identity at the football stadium!
In February, 110 boys and girls from the foundation visited the River Plate football stadium in Buenos Aires with their teachers.
Not only were many dreams fulfilled, but the children also explored the central theme of this year's institutional project: our cultural identity. At Cartoneros y sus Chicos, we work with the methodology of project-based learning. For this reason, cultural and leisure outings are not only fun, but also have an educational purpose. They are a great resource to continue learning!
Many thanks to Banco Ciudad for making this excursion possible. 💙
(February 2024)
NEWSLETTER 2023
Read inspiring stories of positive change, updates on ongoing projects
and the incredible milestones we have achieved in 2023.
Inauguration 2nd Floor
of our school
The grand opening of the 2nd floor of our school took place on 11th of October. In the presence of many friends of our foundation, we celebrated this special milestone with joy and gratitude.
With this extension, we will double the number of children we can teach from 200 to an incredible 400 children! This means that even more young people will have the opportunity to learn, grow and shape their future in a supportive and enriching environment.
Many thanks to everyone who has made this possible. Together, we are making dreams come true.
Award
We are delighted to have been recognised in the highest category of the FEDEFA Solidarity Award 2023.
The Federation of Argentinean Foundations - FEDEFA - aims to certify and reward the quality management and transparency of Argentinean social organisations, as well as compliance with the legal and fiscal framework, transparency, efficiency and social impact.
This award crowns our successful year and rewards us for our consistent and dedicated work.
New composition of the Foundation Board
We are pleased to announce the new composition of our Foundation Board, a group of dedicated members who will actively support us in our mission for a better education and a better life for our Cartoneros children.
This exceptional team brings a wealth of experience, passion and commitment and we are delighted to introduce them to you today.
Together, we are ready to go the extra mile for our Cartoneros children every day to give them a better education and a better life in an ever-evolving world.
We thank all our members for their commitment and look forward to the journey ahead of us.
Renata Jacobs
Founder & Vice President
Mid-Term Update
We're thrilled to share some exciting results from our efforts to support children's
growth and learning: Out of our 164 students, only two need extra help.
They receive our extra support and we promote a positive learning environment for all.
Content Assessments: Our students have shown incredible progress in their studies.
Particularly in Mathematics, they've made remarkable improvements. High-performing
students have demonstrated that they can excel even further. Despite challenges, their
dedication has resulted in outstanding growth and achievements!
Attendance: Our students are showing up and showing out! Average attendance has
risen to 78,5%, marking a 10,5% increase since October 2022.
We're immensely proud of these achievements, and our commitment to support
our children remains unwavering! 💙
Education Progress
We're proud to report on the remarkable progress our children are making in their schooling.
Mid-term evaluations are providing valuable insights into each child's development.
In May 2023, our Literacy Volunteer Programme started with 20 volunteers from JP Morgan Bank.
Our young volunteers are first trained using our "DALE" methodology.
They then meet with the children to teach them how to read and write.
It is always amazing that there are still many 11- to
13-year-olds coming to us who can neither read nor write!
CHARITY NIGHT 2023
Our 11th charity event was a big success! On 9 March 2023, around 250 guests gathered in Zurich at the AURA, including the Argentine Ambassador to Switzerland, Mr Pedro D'Alotto, the Ibizan artist Marta Torres, as well as important entrepreneurs and businesswomen from Switzerland and abroad. Almost the entire board of our foundation also came from Buenos Aires to Zurich to be present at this important event.
During the evening, the guests were able to enjoy Argentinean specialities and participate in various games in the fairground ambience. There were great prizes to be won at the tombola and the auction. Our sponsors supported us with numerous great prizes, including Roger Federer with a signed tennis racket and Rafael Nadal and Breel Embolo with signed T-shirts to auction off!
Musical entertainment was provided by the well-known Swiss-Colombian singer Loco Escrito and the Argentine band "The Tonights", who travelled from Patagonia especially for the occasion.
We are very happy about this successful event! 💙
ANKÜNDIGUNG
CHARITY NIGHT 2023
We look forward to numerous appearances at our charity event in favor of the
Cartoneros y sus Chicos on March 9, 2023 at AURA, Zurich!
NEWSLETTER 2022
Take a look at our highlights in 2022!
SCHOOL VISIT
Board members, the mayor of Pilar and the Swiss ambassador visited our school in October, accompanied by the Argentinian painter Daniel Genovesi.
The occasion was the inauguration of a mural in honor of a very generous donor from Switzerland who wants to remain anonymous. We are very grateful for her generosity.
HOLIDAY SEASON 2022
SCHOOL VISIT
Board members, the mayor of Pilar and the Swiss ambassador visited our school in October, accompanied by the Argentinian painter Daniel Genovesi.
The occasion was the inauguration of a mural in honor of a very generous donor from Switzerland who wants to remain anonymous. We are very grateful for her generosity.
SUPPORT FROM THE FOOD BANK
Generous support came from the „Banco de Alimentos“ (food bank). Representatives from the food bank visited our school, gained insight into our work and chatted with the kids. The result was a generous 500 kg food donation that was immediately distributed among the families and for which we are very grateful.
CHARITY EVENT IN MIAMI
On 15 September, approx. 90 guests followed our invitation to dinner in the special atmosphere of the Ancient Spanish Monastery.
Dr. Daniel Haddad, a well-known businessman, journalist and lawyer held the key note speech.
Among others, we auctioned t-shirts signed by River and Boca players as well as pieces of art.
All funds raised will be destined to increase our school´s capacity and support more children.
Gabriel Bancora Photography
CHILDREN´S DAY CELEBRATION
August came to an end with the „Children´s Day“ celebration. The main idea of this celebration is to put children´s rights on the spotlight. Thanks to the support of our friends, Soledad Senosiain and Olivier Villard, our Cartoneros children had lots of fun and were happy to receive some gifts.
AWARD
In April, the Swiss-Argentinian Chamber of Commerce launched the competition “Positive Actions”. For three months companies, organizations and individuals had the opportunity to present their projects for the benefit of the Argentinian society in three categories: “Technological Innovation”, “Youth” and “Sustainability and Environment”. We are proud to announce that our virtual literacy program was among the winners in the first category.
On 1 August, the Swiss national holiday Diego Guilisasti, director of our foundation, gladly accepted the award from the Swiss ambassador, His Excellency Mr. Hans-Ruedi Bortis.
Congratulations to all parties involved in the project, especially to our partner Accenture.
NEW DONATIONS
This month our kids were the happy recipients of two donations.
We received generous donations from our friends Alberto Grimoldi, from Grimoldi S.A. and Olivier Villard: Grimoldi S.A. donated shoes to our kids, Olivier Villard provided disinfectant — both much needed.
Again a heartful thank you to our donators for their generosity!
PARENTS' MEETING
At the beginning of March, a parents' meeting was organised by our Managing Director. This was an opportunity for the parents to learn about the topics that will be covered this school year and in which subjects the children may need even more intensive support.
For the first time many parents attended this gathering. This shows us that they are very interested in their children's education.
MEETING WITH THE
MAYOR OF PILAR
At the end of March, we received Federico Achával, Mayor of Pilar, together with Paula Gonzalez, Ministry of Social Development, and Rodrigo Vidal, Ministry of Environment, for a visit to our Escuelita.
We showed the school to the representatives of the municipality of Pilar and discussed various topics over breakfast.
The main topic of the meeting was the presentation of the project for the extension of the school by one floor. Federico Achával, who has always actively supported us since the beginning of the Cartoneros y sus Chicos project, showed great interest in our project and at the end of the meeting gave us his permit that we can start immediately with the extension of our Escuelita.
MEETING WITH THE
MAYOR OF PILAR
At the end of March, we received Federico Achával, Mayor of Pilar, together with Paula Gonzalez, Ministry of Social Development, and Rodrigo Vidal, Ministry of Environment, for a visit to our Escuelita.
We showed the school to the representatives of the municipality of Pilar and discussed various topics over breakfast.
The main topic of the meeting was the presentation of the project for the extension of the school by one floor. Federico Achával, who has always actively supported us since the beginning of the Cartoneros y sus Chicos project, showed great interest in our project and at the end of the meeting gave us his permit that we can start immediately with the extension of our Escuelita.
PARENTS' MEETING
At the beginning of March, a parents' meeting was organised by our Managing Director. This was an opportunity for the parents to learn about the topics that will be covered this school year and in which subjects the children may need even more intensive support.
For the first time many parents attended this gathering. This shows us that they are very interested in their children's education.
ALL-DAY EDUCATION
AT STATE SCHOOLS
Five of our protégés have now the great opportunity to attend full-day public school and they leave our tuition.
According to law, in Argentina full-day education is compulsory for children from age 5/6. Unfortunately, only one in eight children can benefit from all-day education since many schools still do not have the necessary infrastructure and/or the budget for teachers to implement the law.
We are happy for our five children and hope that the teachers at the public school are as motivated as our teachers and that the children can improve their knowledge.
LAST YEAR´S RESULT
It was this time of the year again - the results of last year's school performance were explored and we are happy to announce that children of all age groups have improved enormously.
Yes, there are also some deficits in the subjects of language and mathematics. So this year we will work intensely on these two subjects.
GOOD START INTO THE NEW YEAR
The new year started off well. We received various money donations from Argentina and the regular daily yoghurt snack for each child by the Danone Foundation.
Our friend, Mr. Alberto Grimoldi, owner of the shoe company Grimoldi S.A., once again offered to give each child new shoes - what a lovely gesture.
We would like to take the opportunity to thank all of our donors very much!
Annual Report 2021
Our Annual Report 2021 is now available. We look back on another difficult year in the context of the Covid pandemic, but also on milestones we have achieved in the last ten years.
With great commitment also this year we will continue to care for our Cartoneros children also this year.
Thank you very much for your support in 2021! We wish you a wonderful Christmas season and a Happy and Healthy New Year!
10. Charity Night on 1 September 2021
What a wonderful journey to "Buenos Aires" we could enjoy on 1 September 2021. Gauchos, tango dancers, artists and internationally known singers accompanied us through the 10th anniversary of "Cartoneros y sus Chicos".
It was an evening full of surprises.
.
To duly celebrate our 10th anniversary of the Foundation, we travelled to Buenos Aires for one evening. Around 300 guests from business, industry, politics, sports and show business as well as ambassadors from South America had bought "plane tickets" and enjoyed the evening with tango music, many international attractions and typical Argentinean food at the Aura in the centre of Zurich - of course in compliance with all necessary COVID measures. The President of the Foundation, Mr Pablo Kavulakian, also travelled from Buenos Aires for this gala evening.
During the evening, guests were able to have their drawings done by a caricaturist and marvel at the arts of a magician and football juggler. The founder of Mars City Design from Los Angeles gave a lecture on the micro-macro universe. A musical highlight was also not to be missed: The very well-known singer Loco Escrito thrilled the guests at the charity evening with his Latin American rhythms.
In the charity auction, which has already become a tradition, exclusive items were put up for auction and many prizes found happy winners in the raffle. The tennis racket of champion Roger Federer, several three-litre bottles of fine Argentinian red wine, weekends in renowned luxury hotels and contemporary art found proud new owners. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors once again.
We spent an unforgettable charity evening that we will all remember for a very long time.
"Cartoneros y sus Chicos" Patenschaften
Renata Jacobs and her team at the "Cartoneros y sus Chicos" Foundation are always looking for new ways to support the cartoneros and their children. Their motto is: "Mejor educación - mejor vida" (Better education - better life).
Already today, the foundation provides educational support and a safe and loving environment to more than 165 young people between the ages of 6 and 18.
The year 2020 was drastic for education all over the world: schools had to be closed and 1.5 billion children could not attend school. Argentina's long-running economic crisis is further exacerbated by the Corona pandemic - over 40% of Argentines have been living below the poverty line since the second half of 2020.
Like all children, our Cartoneros children have dreams. But they need our support to make them come true. You can help the children to get one step closer to their dreams.
As part of the 10th anniversary of the "Cartoneros y sus Chicos" foundation, 10 sponsorships for children have already been awarded at the Charity Night on 1 September 2021. More children would also like a sponsor to accompany them part of the way.
You too can become a sponsor and make it possible for a child to receive an annual contribution of
Swiss Francs 500,- you can give a child the chance of a better life.
You can find more information about Cartoneros sponsorships under Patenschaften.
10. Charity Night 2021 Zürich
Read more about the situation of the children (text available in German) here:
Save the date 10. Charity Night 2021 Zürich
Each donation counts!
Support our Cartoneros children with your donation and help to give them a better life and a better future.
We appreciate every donation and our children thank you from the bottom of their hearts.
Cartoneros y sus Chicos
c/o Jacobs Foundation
Bank details: UBS AG, P.O. Box 8098 Zurich/Switzerland
IBAN CH17 0023 0230 4130 8503 K BIC UBSWCHZH80A
Dear friends and helpers of our Cartoneros events,
After my 2020 Annual Report, which all of you havereceived, we are now looking forward in this new year of 2021 with great expectations.
We all hope that the COVID situation around the worldwill be brought under control by the vaccines and that thepandemic will soon be a thing of the past.
Entering Argentina is still impossible since the borders areclosed to foreigners until further notice. In fact, a specialpermit is required to travel internally from one province toanother.
Schools in Argentina were closed for many months andour children were assigned homework by their teachers(over the Internet), which was then discussed with theirteachers.
Our foundation in Buenos Aires collected a lot of foodfrom private individuals and companies, playing an activerole in helping the Madreselvas families survive thepandemic.
We were pleased to hear the news that schools areofficially reopening today, 8 March, and that we can nowrestart tutoring our children.
Some 150 children have been registered to date and –though it may be hard to believe –another 88 children areon the waiting list. Unfortunately, things do not look goodfor those children, since our school is not able toaccommodate more than 150 students due to spacecapacity.
What's more? We all need to be aware that skill levelshave fallen due to the closure of schools almost a year ago.According to current studies by the DALE Foundation,57% of 140 children aged between 6 and 14 years areneither able to read nor write! That is an appalling andalso sad state of affairs.
This result forces us to work even more intensively withour children and to convince their parents also that only abetter education will make a better future and life for theirchildren.
We all now hope that the planned charity event on 3 June2021 at Restaurant AURA in Zurich can go ahead. Fingerscrossed!
See you soon.
Yours sincerely,
Renata
P.S. We also reserved 2 September 2021 as a second dateby way of precaution.
Christmas Greetings from
Cartoneros y sus Chicos
10th Charity Event Zurich
Due to the ongoing worldwide pandemic and the requirements of the Swiss Federal Office of the Public Health we decided to postpone our 10th Cartoneros y sus Chicos Charity event to Thursday, June 3rd, 2021 in the Aura in Zürich.
We hope that the situation will improve until then and that we will be able to meet healthy and happy in early summer.
Schools closed
All schools in Argentina have been closed since mid-March due to the global pandemic. Our 150 Cartoneros children suffer from this situation but try to master their tasks from home.
The foundation`s teachers send them assignments via WhatsApp or deliver them personally, always in compliance with the protective measures, and support our children whenever necessary.
What do the Cartoneros and their children do during the pandemic?
In June and July 2020, beside the ongoing lockdown in Argentina, the Foundation “Cartoneros y sus Chicos” was able to establish and organise a red of free lunch service and donation of food supplies for the local community. The donations distributed included:
-
28.000 kg of potatoes donated by «Foodbank Argentina»
-
9.000 kg of beans donated by «Cono S.A.»
-
1.500 personal hygiene sets donated by «PG Argentina»
-
$130.000 donated by the followers of «Flor Freijo»
With the help of generous donations we are able to support our 71 families of the Cartoneros in times of quarantine and also the neighbouring families of our Cartoneros which total up to more then 4.000 people.
We would like to thank “El Soldado”, a local transportation and logistic company from Cordoba as well as our sincere gratitude towards “Cera Suiza” and Mrs Maria Soledad Senosiain who introduced the project and made the first contact happen.
Cartoneros y sus Chicos is funded by donations made at charity events as well as from cooperations and sponsoring. By actively participating in the creation of educational places, health, and medical prevention programs, we want to create a sustainable perspective for these people together. By actively participating in the creation of educational centres, health and medical prevention facilities, we want to create a sustainable perspective for these people.
What do the Cartoneros and their children do during the pandemic?
In June and July 2020, beside the ongoing lockdown in Argentina, the Foundation “Cartoneros y sus Chicos” was able to establish and organise a red of free lunch service and donation of food supplies for the local community. The donations distributed included:
-
28.000 kg of potatoes donated by «Foodbank Argentina»
-
9.000 kg of beans donated by «Cono S.A.»
-
1.500 personal hygiene sets donated by «PG Argentina»
-
$130.000 donated by the followers of «Flor Freijo»
With the help of generous donations we are able to support our 71 families of the Cartoneros in times of quarantine and also the neighbouring families of our Cartoneros which total up to more then 4.000 people.
We would like to thank “El Soldado”, a local transportation and logistic company from Cordoba as well as our sincere gratitude towards “Cera Suiza” and Mrs Maria Soledad Senosiain who introduced the project and made the first contact happen.
Cartoneros y sus Chicos is funded by donations made at charity events as well as from cooperations and sponsoring. By actively participating in the creation of educational places, health, and medical prevention programs, we want to create a sustainable perspective for these people together. By actively participating in the creation of educational centres, health and medical prevention facilities, we want to create a sustainable perspective for these people.
COVID-19
Cancellation of Event 2020
“Cartoneros y sus Chicos” Charity Night on March 18, 2020
Dear Friends
Complying with today's decision of the Swiss Federal Council we need to cancel our charity event which we had been planning for a long time.
We are very sad that our event will not be taking place this year. It would have been a wonderful evening with many surprises.
I look forward to meeting you all again soon and thank you for your great support and understanding.
Wishing you all the best and good health, I remain,
With kind regards
Renata Jacobs
Founder & Vice President of the Board
Charity Night 2020 Zurich
Charity Event 2019 in Miami
We have the know-how you need.
On December 4th, our second charity event for "Cartoneros y sus Chicos" was held in Miami, generously organized by the Grosskopf family, who made available the beautiful facilities of Fendi Château Residences and offered a delicious dinner as well as contributing with exclusive works of art, jewelry and many beautiful prizes for the auction and raffle.
A group of 80 distinguished guests, mostly Argentinians residing in Miami, showed their solidarity to our cause and there was animated bidding for the items in the auction, in which we managed to raise an impressive sum of 150'000 US-Dollars.
The guests also enjoyed a Tango presentation and danced to musical performances.
Our sincere thanks to all the participants and sponsors who contributed to the great success of this event.
Charity Dinner 2019 Buenos Aires
On the 2nd of October we held our 8th Gala Dinner for "Cartoneros y sus Chicos" in the beautiful rooms provided by the Hotel Alvear Palace.
More than 300 guests from business, industry, politics, sports, show business and many dear friends have again shown their loyalty to our foundation.
Exclusive items were auctioned and there were many lucky winners at the raffle.
the well-known singer Maxi Trusso delighted all participants with wonderful melodies that his youth orchestra performed with their violins.
Last but not least, our faithful friend Nicolas Cuneo performed with his band "Los Echeverria" and brought everyone to dance with his music.
Our special thanks go to
- Alejandro Lentz for the moderation of the evening with his characteristic charm.
- Bodegas Colomé for the fine wines that accompanied the dinner.
- Bodegas San Huberto for the delicious champagne for the reception.
- Café Cabrales for the wonderful coffee and the nice raffle prices.
- Barry Callebaut, again this year numerously represented at the event, for the exquisite giveaway chocolate.
Grand opening of the new school building
On February 28th, 2019, the long wait came to an end and the new school building in Maquinista Savio, Barrio Pilar, was officially inaugurated.
Thanks to numerous donations from Switzerland we were able to build our school. Beautiful bright classrooms, a large kitchen and a large dining and nice lounge area were created – to the great delight of the children and their parents.
