Anadolu Foundation
"An institution working for the good of Turkey: Anadolu Foundation"
Anadolu Foundation was founded in 1979 by İzzet Özilhan and Kamil Yazıcı, who expressed their point of departure as “Above all, belief and determination … followed by toil and sweat … We wanted to demonstrate our gratitude to and share our success with the people of Anatolia, who, like ourselves, have committed themselves to this work.”
Anadolu Foundation is proud of having contributed to the realization of more than 40 projects in different areas, including hospitals, health clinics, sports centers and dormitories, and donating them to the state, and providing scholarships to thousands of needy students.
From the time they came to Istanbul from Anatolia in the 1950s, the Yazıcı and Özilhan families have been exemplars of success in the struggle to overcome poverty through toil and sweat, and to improve the quality of life.
Kamil Yazıcı was born in Niğde-Aksaray while İzzet Özilhan was born in the village of Pusatlı in Kayseri-Tomarza. Having come from two families that had to really work hard to overcome their hardships, Kamil Yazıcı and İzzet Özilhantook their first steps to accomplishing their great dreams by opening up a small hardware store in Tahtakale. Since establishing the Anadolu Education and Social Assistance Foundation in 1979, they have been setting up permanent service-providing institutions in areas that have a need for their ideals. The most important areas for them are health and education. Since its creation, the foundation has undertaken many social responsibility projects and continues to assist the needy.
The sole source of financing for Anadolu Foundation is the donations it receives from Anadolu Group companies. With this income, the Foundation strives to breathe life into new projects and to nurture an educated young generation. The most important and largest step taken by Anadolu Foundation in the area of health has been Anadolu Medical Center. This Center offers healthcare at international standards with the aim of raising the quality of life of patients. The income obtained from Anadolu Medical Center, which was begun as a non-profit institution, is channeled back into the project to expand it. Anadolu Foundation, which stresses the development of service in the health sector, continues to raise public awareness through free check-ups, patient education programs, first aid courses and seminars on preventive medicine, and to share its success with the people of Anatolia.