*** This giveaway is no longer accepting entries – scroll down to see who won!***
Perhaps you’ve heard of a little store called Ikea? And perhaps you’ll be interested in a $350 gift card from them for this week’s giveaway? Yeah we couldn’t believe it either when they emailed us. Hooray is right, Ikea catalog. Well said.
And not only are they generously offering up this week’s sweet prize, Ikea’s also presenting “The Life Improvement Project” where they’ll award one philanthropic individual $100,000 to take a one year sabbatical to help others (start a non-profit, volunteer for a year, etc). Plus they’re hosting free seminars in their stores about improving your life through your living space.
But back to how you can get your mitts on that $350 gift card:
- PRIZE: A $350 gift card to Ikea!
- TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “IKEA Me!” and…
- BONUS QUESTION: … tell us what you’d do if you could spend one year helping others. Would you open an after school program? Volunteer at a homeless shelter? Rescue animals?
- GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Wednesday, October 27th at 8pm EST
- NUMBER OF WINNERS: One
- PRIZE SHIPS: The United States
- USUAL STUFF: One entry per e-mail address is permitted. The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on Thursday as an update to this post. That’s right, come right back here Thursday morning for the announcement of our winner. Good luck…
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You guys are quite impressive with your nearly 11,000 entries. So impressive in fact that Ikea decided to change their plans and give away not just one, not just two, but THREE $350 gift cards. That’s over $1000 in gift cards! Thanks Ikea!
So let’s see who the lucky three winners are according to random.org:
- Alyssa Allen (who’s Life Improvement Project would include moving her fam somewhere in the world to help the poverty crisis)
- NEPD (who’d give her wedding florist services away free of charge)
- Jill (who’d give a year working with the Wildlife Conservation Society)
Note: We weren’t paid or perk’d for hosting this giveaway, we just take them on to reward our lovely readers! See our Giveaway FAQs page for more info. Pics from Ikea.
Annette F. says
IKEA ME!
Jessica says
IKEA ME!
If I could take a year off, I would work to create a better parent advocacy programs for low-income parents of special education students. As a teacher of these students, its sad to see how little parents are told of their rights by the districts and how many more services higher-income special education students are receiving.
Jessalyn says
IKEA Me!
I am currently fortunate enough to be a stay at home mom which affords me the opportunity to be involved in my kids’ schools. If I wasn’t already attached to my children’s schools, I’d love to spend a year giving my time and talents to schools with less family engagement.
Jen says
IKEA ME!
I would want to open a school for girls in a developing country!
Katie says
IKEA Me!
I would love to spend time crossing the country and chronicling the lives of the elderly so their stories aren’t lost.
Sharon says
IKEA Me!
If I could take a year off, I’d volunteer at out local food bank, no one in this country should be going hungry. I’d also spend some time educating teachers on teaching kids with ADD/ADHD.
Andrea says
IKEA Me!
I would teach teenagers and young adults how to cook healthy foods and eat a healthier way in general.
Kerri says
Ikea me!! If I could take a year off, it would be to work with children in need. I love the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program and I’d even consider foster parenting, especially considering my husband and I don’t have any children of our own (and aren’t sure we are able to).
terhi says
IKEA me!!
i would start a project to work with inner city kids to improve their science and math skills.
Michael says
IKEA me!!!
Alison Pagliuca says
Ikea ME!!! PLEASE!!
I would spend a year helping people apply for and receive free medication! Did you know pharmaceutical companies are required to offer x amount of medication at no cost to those in certain financial brackets? The process to apply is long and hard, I’d help the elderly apply for free medication.
Amy says
Ikea Me!
Wow what a great prize. I would love to take a year off and work with an organization called NAMI or National Alliance for Mental Illness. It is a cause near and dear to me.
Erin P says
IKEA ME!
I’d use the money to start an urban garden with at risk girls in Detroit, teaching them how to grow their own food, and take pride in something they created.
Amanda C says
IKEA ME!
I would open a women’s shelter for abused women, teens and children.
Tyleet says
IKEA Me! I would love to volunteer in or start a soup kitchen.
flynn says
“IKEA Me!” I’d love to do a program taking elementary school kids to see what people do in the sort of jobs they’re interested in at a young age. Jobs that they’ll probably end up in wouldn’t be the important part, but just for them to see veterinarians to firefighters, it’d be fun. Just knowing that there are cool things like that out there to do for a living is such a good motivator. Oh, and it’d probably be fun for the adults to be reminded that there are people that think their jobs are really amazing, too :)
Eric says
“Ikea Me!” If I could afford to take off a year and volunteer, I’d definitely do something to help cancer patients.
Katharine says
oh yes IKEA Me!!! I would take a year to help a struggling city public school make the changes they need to make and want to make
Mrs. Moore says
IKEA Me!
I would love to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. During my undergrad years I did a lot of work with them, and now (5+ years later) I am beginning to volunteer with them again!
Elizabeth says
IKEA Me!!!
As a nurse, I would work in a free clinic in my area, provide healthcare after natural disasters or work in a third world country teaching better health practices. I’d also bring along my doctor husband :)
Emily Robinson says
IKEA ME!!!
I would love to do what I am already doing…COUNSELING young people, but for a non profit or even a pregnancy center!
Devon says
IKEA ME! I’m a lawyer, so like LizO, I’d do a bunch of pro bono lawyerin’. I’d focus on housing issues, ’cause I really do love houses (plus, when you get right down to it, shelter is such a gosh-darn basic need/right).
Allison says
IKEA ME!
I would want to do something to make sure struggling families had food and everyday supplies.
Nik says
IKEA me!
I’d volunteer with local animal shelters and help foster homeless pups.
Ann K. says
IKEA ME!! I am a trustee of my local library system and believe that libraries are essential to the health of communities. I would spend the year visiting library systems in urban areas and helping them to organize their fundraising efforts, acquisition of new and used books, and creating literacy and computer training programs. It would also be great to create more dialogue and idea exchange between urban and suburban libraries.
Robyn O. says
Ikea Me!
I would invest in nutrition education for children.
Amy says
IKEA ME! I would have an after-school art program for disadvantaged kids.
michelle says
IKEA ME!!
I would love to take some time off and work and just go to China to work at the local schools.
Terry says
IKEA ME!
I would definitely volunteer helping animals in some way.
They are so precious.
Thank you for this chance to win such a great gift!
:)
Erica B says
IKEA Me!
I would probably do a bunch of different things, but I know I would love to do a lot of work with Habitat for Humanity.
natasha says
“IKEA Me!” and… I’d go back to Haiti and work in the Carfour community we stayed in.
Stephanie says
IKEA Me! I would spend a year working with Project Offstreets – an organization that supports teenagers transitioning from life on the streets.
Nicholas Gatlin says
IKEA ME!! There is a fabulous charity here in Seattle called Rise’n’Shine that provides for children that have been affected by HIV by providing support and summer camps. I would love to volunteer my office skills to support their charity.
Kathyriya says
Ikea Me! We’re having twins and this would be great to use in the nusery!! I would love to take off a year to voluteer with my local women’s shelter, but I think I’m going to have my hands full. Thanks for the contest!
Melanie Beth says
IKEA ME!!
I think if I had the time to do volunteer work, I would definitely be interested in helping out at all the animal shelters around here…
Leslie Bennett says
IKEA ME PLEASE! I’d help families with children diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome.
Tressa says
Ikea Me! I think I’d like to work with kids in some capacity if I took a year off.
erica says
IKEA me!
i would take a year off and open a preschool. sounds daunting, but so fun.
Audrey says
IKEA ME! What an awesome giveaway!! Ikea rocks!
I’d work with Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Rachael says
IKEA Me! I already work at a non-profit and love it – but if I had a year off to do a different kind of work I’d go abroad and help disaster victims (leaving my husband to decorate on his own, yikes!)
Ashley says
IKEA Me!
I would work on setting up free speech screenings for kids.
Leah says
IKEA ME!
I would volunteer for habitat for humanity and help build houses for the less fortunate.
Stephanie H. says
IKEA ME! If I had a year to spend off of work, I would set up an organization in my state of Nebraska to get better dental and health care to the otherwise, neglected part of our state. Known as Western Nebraska. I would also help the NE Mission of Mercy that provides dental care to those who couldn’t otherwise afford it.
Sarah Louise says
IKEA Me!!!!
If I could take a year off of work to volunteer I would do a variety of things related to healthcare- give families who care for their loved ones at home a break, do some work for Mercy Ships, and work with senior citizens who can no longer live alone/get around on their own.
Jac R says
IKEA Me!
I would want to spend a year volunteering at a shelter for battered women.
Amy says
IKEA ME!
If I could take one year off I would devote my time to improving the quality of school lunch programs across the nation.
Keatra says
IKEA Me!
I would love to help out with an organization like Project Pooch.
Lindsay says
Ikea me!
I would use the money to go to Paraguay where I’ve already spent nine months and open a place a place in Asuncion for children to fill their stomachs and escape the labor they perform daily.
Meghan B says
Ikea Me!
Mimi says
IKEA ME! I already work and volunteer for an awesome organization, Midtown Educational Foundation, that provides tutoring and mentoring for inner city youth! However, I also love the idea of renovating, so I would probably go back to my home state and help those who are still struggling from the Rita and Katrina hurricanes.