Zurich, May 17, 2025 – The Star Weeks Award ceremony attended by around 550 children and adults took place today at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, where awards were given out for the most creative children’s fundraising campaigns. This year’s winners come from Freienwil (AG), Liestal (BL), Bremgarten bei Bern and Berikon (AG). Around 4,500 children collected CHF 326,000 in donations for children in Burundi.
Star Weeks Award 2025
The Star Weeks campaign is organized jointly by UNICEF and the magazine Schweizer Familie. During Star Weeks, children in Switzerland and Liechtenstein get involved with creative fundraising ideas that benefit other children in need. Since 2004, more than 140,000 children have collected around CHF 8.8 million, impressively demonstrating their solidarity for children in need. Twelve campaigns were nominated across four different categories. The laudators included UNICEF ambassadors Stefanie Heinzmann and Anatole Taubman, Manu Burkhard of Divertimento and Marius Tschirki of ‘Marius & die Jagdkapelle.’ Comedian and moderator Stefan Büsser hosted the event.
And this year’s winners are:
Category: Individual Child
Lukas Schneider from Freienwil (AG)
Lukas prepared a sales tray containing dried prunes, cards and lucky charms he made himself. This was his second time participating in Star Weeks – which he did with great passion and perseverance. He collected CHF 270.
Category: Friends/Siblings
Rhea and Anouk Meyer, and Julia and Noelia Scheidegger, Liestal (BL)
With great patience and creativity, Rhea, Anouk, Julia and Noelia from Liestal (BL) designed a range of unique gel-printed greeting cards. They spent many hours printing imaginative patterns using bubble wrap and silicone plates, thus creating individual backgrounds. They then decorated the cards using hand-made lino stamps with images such as octopuses, snails, squirrels and rabbits. The result was 120 colorful and unique cards which they sold for this good cause, collecting CHF 765.
Category: Families/Neighborhood
Sciarra family with Elia (2014) and Lorena (2016), Bremgarten bei Bern
The enticing smell of pizza perfumed the air at Bremgarten bei Bern for an entire day: on a Sunday, the Sciarra family cooked 74 pizzas, using their home-made dough, a real pizza oven and paying much attention to detail. They invested 13 hours of work in this effort, used up 14 kilograms of dough and earned CHF 1,510.
Category: Schools
Berikon Primary School, Monika Führer, Berikon (AG)
In Berikon (ZH), Class P2a and their teacher staged a farmers’ vegetable market. With great passion they planted vegetables, designed posters, prepared the market with much effort, harvested potatoes and edible flowers, made herb butters and finally sold their fresh produce, earning CHF 800 for children in Burundi.
Around 4,500 children collected money for Burundi
Around 4,500 children collected CHF 326,000 during this year’s Star Weeks. This year the children of Switzerland and Liechtenstein turned their attention to children in Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world. In Burundi, more than half of children under two suffer from growth disorders. Numerous children do not have access to a varied diet, and many healthcare centers are underserved. There is a lack of clean water and sanitary facilities.
UNICEF will use the proceeds of Star Weeks 2024 to improve healthcare for mothers, infants and young children in Burundi. Healthcare staff will be trained to support mothers, and nutrients in powdered form will promote healthy growth conditions. The water and sanitary infrastructures in healthcare facilities will also be updated to provide a healthier environment.
Star Weeks is supported by the school magazine Spick.
You can find detailed information about Star Weeks here
