In pursuance of an ideal...
It was the beginning of the 1950’s when Kamil Yazıcı and İzzet Özilhan established their first business in a small hardware shop in Tahtakale. While they were dreaming about the future in that small shop, they also shaped an ideal.
The Yazıcı and Özilhan families had come out from the midst of Anatolia to Istanbul for the battle of life. Kamil Yazıcı was born in Nigde-Aksaray and Izzet Özilhan in the Pusalti village of Kayseri-Tomarza. When they gathered the fruits of their hardworking and determination, they had started to make the plans of sharing their earnings with the people of Anatolia. They were aware of both the poverty and the lack of education in the places they came from.
28 years after the foundations of the companies, for which “Anadolu” was chosen as the symbolized name, were laid, the two families believed that is was now the time to realize their big ideals in 1979 and established the Anadolu Education and Social Aid Foundation.
When they established the foundation, in their hearts, they only had the desire to share their earnings with the people of Anatolia. Their ideal was to create permanent works that would be able to provide fully gratuitous services in areas of need. And the areas they placed the most importance on were health and education.
The first projects of the foundation were realized in the homelands of both families. The first steps were taken with the primary school built in Nigde-Aksaray in the name of Mustafa Yazici, and the student dormitory built in Kayseri’s Tomarza district in Vesile Ozilhan’s name.
After these first projects, the Anadolu foundation gifted more than 40 works for Turkey within the 25 years. They made important contributions to the futures of over 10 thousand students by giving them gratuitous scholarships.
Anadolu Foundation was there wherever aid needed. At some times, prefabricated schools and financial aids were provided to earthquake victims who lost their houses due to the earthquake, while at other times a helping hand was given to a disabled citizen who had no financial means to purchase a wheelchair, or the their treatment expenses were paid for someone other at another time.
Anadolu Foundation ensures its source of money only from the donations of the Anadolu Group companies. The Group companies donate a proportion of 1% to 5% of their revenue each year to the foundation. And by this income, the Foundation strives for giving new monuments for Turkey and for an educated young generation.
URL : www.anadoluvakfi.org.tr
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