“Empowering families, empowering women” –that’s the motto of globegarden. It’s not just about care: globegarden is a partner for the entire family.
With over 70 centers, globegarden today is the leading provider of childcare in Switzerland. The childcare centers offer more than just care. They are vibrant worlds of learning and life where children can grow, learn together and explore the world with curiosity. Countless families have trusted globegarden for years, and thousands of children look forward to it every day. The story of globegarden began 15 years ago with a study that the three founders could hardly believe the results of.
In 2007, a scientific investigation by the Swiss economist Monika Bütler was published, focusing on the compatibility of family and career. The sobering thesis was: “Working doesn’t pay off – a second child even less so”. Lack of or too expensive childcare options would make it difficult for families to opt for both career and children. The challenge was something the globegarden founders Christina Mair, Kristina Rebsamen and Caroline Staehelin already knew from their friends and work colleagues. Finding affordable and good childcare was nearly impossible for young families. At that time, the founders didn’t have children of their own but gave much thought to how the situation might look for them in the future. They began to gather information, visited childcare centers and discussed with friends and family until an idea was born: if there’s no childcare that offers what we wish for children, we’ll start our own!
The beginnings of globegarden
For globegarden, values and visions are of central importance. This has not changed since its inception. The founders knew each other long before they became entrepreneurs together: Christina and Caroline are sisters and Kristina is a long-time friend of both. Initially, it was just the three of them working on the realization of a vision, but the globegarden family now has well over 1,000 members. Appreciation and recognition shape the coexistence and development of globegarden.
The first globegarden opened in 2009 at Paradeplatz in Zurich. In the time leading up to the opening, there was a startup spirit: the logo was created on a napkin over a glass of wine in an Italian restaurant, and the administrative tasks were completed at the living room table by Christina Mair. The founders determined what was important to them and the role globegarden should play in the lives of parents and children:
“A good childcare center is based on what’s good for the family – not the other way around. We make children ready for school and fit for the future. We make life a little easier for their parents by helping them balance family life and career. Through early childhood support, we provide children with the necessary skills for education, integration and participation. It’s about much more than just care at globegarden. After all, a child who finds a good place in a childcare center will find it easier to find their place in life later on.”
Together, they defined the core values that guide all action at globegarden:
SHARE every moment
TEACH the future
ACT reliable and responsible
RESPECT every family
These values were first put into practice on Monday, August 17, 2009, at globegarden Talacker, where the first globegarden families were welcomed. A special touch: the three founders worked with groups alongside their teachers as “interns”. They were taught by their own employees, who passed on their expertise. Understanding day-to-day life in a daycare center from the perspective of the people who work there was crucial to our founders. The experience allows them to run the business in a way that brings all perspectives on board. At globegarden, there are no decisions made only at desks. To this day, the founders visit facilities frequently and listen to employees’ experiences. Globegarden is a learning organization that invites everyone to help shape future of early education.
A vision becomes reality
Christina Mair’s living room table quickly became too small for the many tasks that arose. Globegarden struck a nerve. What started out as a “tiny” operation became a “pretty big deal” over the years. While the founders initially dreamed of three childcare centers, there were soon already a dozen centers throughout Switzerland. This increased the administrative workload, which the entrepreneurs did not want to leave to the childcares. The employees there should have the opportunity to focus on the children. Therefore, tasks were soon centralized in the administration in Zurich. Today, an interdisciplinary team of professionals works there, supporting employees in the childcare centers, being points of contact for families and businesses, and further developing the concept of early education.
Now, over 70 centers in Switzerland belong to globegarden. With a lot of passion, commitment and conviction, the founders have created something very special and rethought the concept of childcare in Switzerland. Today, all three are mothers. Would they do anything differently? No, not at all. With globegarden, they have created exactly the place they always wanted for their children.
globegarden – ready for the future
Globegarden has reinvented childcare. What began as an idea now offers numerous parents the opportunity to balance family and career. The founders have continuously developed their innovative concept over the years. Today, globegarden is a place where everyone can grow above and beyond themselves.
Not every child wants to study astrophysics in the future. But shouldn’t every child at least have the chance? The founders are convinced of that. The most important is a good start in life. At globegarden, children can experiment and marvel, make first friendships and learn in an inclusive and diverse environment to meet people and cultures without prejudice. Free play, romping, climbing and swinging in the park or in the childcare’s own garden are just as much a part of daily life as doing gymnastics together or transforming into a cobra during children’s yoga. Globegarden centers have always been about much more than just care.
As colorful as the world is, so are the globegarden childcare centers today. Because globegarden lives cultural diversity. Children, parents and employees at globegarden come into contact with new languages and cultures in a playful way, which opens not only horizons but also their hearts.
Today, numerous pioneers, visionaries, explorers and reformers work at globegarden. For 15 years, the globegarden family has been reinventing the childcare world every day. Employees describe globegarden as innovative, colorful and open. Because that’s what it takes to create a magical place for children – without any magic at all.
The globegarden family is ready for the future every day; because the best is not behind us, but ahead of us.