Lesley Elliott, the mother of the 22-year-old student who was stabbed to death by Clayton Weatherston in 2008, said the Sophie Elliott Foundation aimed to educate year 12 and 13 high school girls about abusive relationships.
`We want to be the fence at the top of the cliff rather than the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff,"she said.
While full details of the foundation were yet to be released, it was unlikely to become a fulltime role for Mrs Elliott who was "doing it for Sophie".
Yesterday Mrs Elliott spoke at an Otago University Students' Association Women's Week event, entitled "Sophie's Story: What we missed".
The talk about her late daughter's experiences, was aimed at helping others recognise potentially harmful relationships.
"If we save one life, it will be worth it," she said.
No-one should accept verbal and physical abuse, and she urged those in abusive relationships to seek help - and most importantly get out of that relationship before the situation worsened.
"There are plenty of other Sophies out there as well ...
"They don't have to put up with this behaviour."
She had been heartened in November to hear from a woman with an 8-month-old baby, who decided to leave her abusive husband after hearing Sophie's story.
Mrs Elliott will be joined as trustee by three other Dunedin-based trustees and Kristin Dunne-Powell, the former partner of television presenter Tony Veitch, who pleaded guilty to injuring her with reckless disregard for her safety.
