*** 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.
Joi says
IKEA me!
Hmm, if I had a year to volunteer I think I’d want to help failing schools or breast cancer patients somehow. : )
nikki says
Ikea ME!!!!!!!!
If i had to do just one thing i would volunteer all my extra time to adopted kids nursing homes and shelters. Already do nursing homes but would love to do the kids thing. Thanks so much for this great gift. Fingers crossed!
Carmen says
IKEA Me!
I’d love to do mission work.
HollowSquirrel says
IKEA ME!
I would volunteer my time at a local charity that provides gently used clothing to kids in our foster system.
Claire T says
IKEA ME! I would love nothing more than to take a year off to work on my non-profit endeavors. I’m a graphic designer, and I spend my free time working with non-profit organizations to give them complementary design works. These projects enable the organizations to promote themselves and bring awareness to their efforts.
I would also love to volunteer with an after school program with young children.
Rebekah C says
Ikea me!
If I could spend a year helping others, I would volunteer at the local animal shelter, walking dogs and cleaning cages.
shelia says
IKEA me- would finish all my projects and maybe start some new ones.
If I had a year to give, I would volunteer as a nurse to a place in need. My daughter being sick all the time lead me into a career as a nurse and I would love to travel around the world and use my skills where they are really needed.
Kaity says
IKEA ME!!!!!!
I would spend a year off in inner city America, maybe Detroit, helping with after-school and literacy programs for youth.
Jenn says
IKEA ME!! If I took a year off from work, I’d like to do some kind of work with teen moms and their babies.
Nan says
IKEA me! I’d spend the year tutoring kids in under-served school districts.
Lauren says
IKEA Me!
I would go to Guatemala and volunteer with Camino Seguro (www.safepassage.org), a charitable coalition formed to assist to children and families at the Guatemala City Garbage Dump.
Susanne says
IKEA ME!
There are two things I’m most passionate about- children and food. If given the chance, I would spend a year improving school lunch programs in inner city schools.
Tara says
IKEA ME!
Oh my goodness this would be a dream come true. If I could put my all towards helping something, it would definitely be animals. I want all of the stray dogs and cats to have homes and be spayed/neutered so we do not have an over population problem. I would also rehabilitate abused animals so they can be put in loving homes with people who truly appreciate them.
Emily says
IKEA ME!
I’d combine my love of books and passion for healthy eating into an after-school program focused on literacy and nutrition!
Adam says
IKEA Me!
I would spend the year in Italy reaching out to college students.
Erika says
Ikea me!!!
I would start a free clinic of alternative healthcare practitioners!
Heather says
IKEA Me! If I could spend one year helping others, I would spend it starting an organization in my community to help children, to support their education and ensure that all the children in our school district have their basic needs met.
Amy V says
IKEA me, please! :)
I would run an animal rescue– foster animals until adoption. (My husband and I just adopted a puppy about 3 weeks ago!!)
Erin T. says
IKEA Me!
There’s a neat charity where we live that recycles bikes to give kids and underprivileged folks around town. I’d love to spend more time with that group.
Katie says
Ikea ME! grow libraries in developing countries. . .
Heather B says
IKEA me! If I had a year off, I would take the time to develop a well publicized free tutoring program in my town.
MaryCee says
IKEA ME! I would spend the year working at our local food bank, cooking and washing dishes.
kirsten says
IKEA ME!
I would spend a year working with at-risk pre-school children aged children. When I was fresh from college, I worked in that field, but had to make a switch because the pay was minimal…..and eventually I wanted to eat more than macaroni and cheese for supper.
WindyLou says
“IKEA Me!”
I know just what I would do: I’d spend the time and some of the money helping a local organization that helps new moms/babies. They send a volunteer to the home once a week to help out with any needs around the house, of even to let mom get a nap. It’s not babysitting, because one parent has to be there at all times, it’s just an extra set of hands! Also, volunteers are trained to be on the look out for PPD so moms can get help early on. The organization is called momsbloom.org
(And if I’m totally honest, some of the $$ would go for fertility related expenses for our family)
Ayelet says
IKEA ME!!! (Pretty please)
rebann says
IKEA ME!
I would expand on one the volunteer activities I already do, which is taking my dog to a local nursing home to visit the residents. I’d spend more time doing this type of outreach, specifically getting involved with hospice, the children’s unit of local hospitals and any other place that thought the presence of a gentle, furry giant would comfort someone(s). I would also use the time to advocate for shelter dogs as GREAT pets/companions, and to do whatever I could to build awareness of lupus and advocate for funding for research on effective lupus treatments. My sister has lupus, and my dog has an unspecified autoimmune disease (canine lupus is one of the things it could be, but I’m not willing to have her tissue biopsied since the current treatment is working).
Jenny says
IKEA ME! If I had a year to help others, I would love to volunteer at a youth ranch, or in a village Africa. If I could take my whole family, I’d love to travel through Appalachia and help those families in poverty. Thanks for a great giveaway! :)
Melissa says
Ikea me!!
I’m hoping one day, when my kids are grown and gone, to work with MSF in a developing country. So much important work being done!
katie d. says
IKEA ME!!!
if i had a year and a large budget, i’d look into creating worthwhile literacy programs for middle grades kids, who tend to get left out of lots of children’s programs that tend to focus on elementary school aged kids.
Chris says
IKEA Me!…would love to help kids understand the importance of education and try to get them to see the value of hard work in education.
Laura Lewis says
IKEA me! We are just about to buy our first home and your blog has inspired me SO much!
If I had a year to help others I would want to spend time with sick children and their families and find away to brighten what may be a dark time. I spent many years in the hospital as a child and know how much of a difference being surrounded by love can carry you through. I also work as a pediatric ICU nurse, but I would love to take a step back from the medical aspect and be able to care more for the heart and soul.
Michelle says
IKEA me!
If I had a year off, I would help support the underprivileged kids of NYC. They need lots of help!
Anna J. says
IKEA ME!
My husband and I have long dreamed of spending more time, energy and money working with shelter dogs. We would love to train them so that they are that much more ready for their forever homes.
AlaskanAlison says
IKEA ME!
I would either start a local cat rescue or volunteer for a year at the local humane society. OR I would travel to an impoverished country to volunteer as a nurse.
Erin says
IKEA ME!!!
If I were given $100,000 to take off for a year from work and help the world we live in, I would return to Haiti for the entire year and be a positive presence of help, love, and friendship.
I just returned from Haiti in Sept 2010 after a 10 day mission trip, and desperately want (need) to go back to continue building relationships with the Haitians, and continue helping to rebuild the country. I left a piece of my heart there when I returned home, and would be forever grateful for the opportunity to take off for a whole year to spend with the people of Haiti.
Jamie C says
IKEA ME! I would focus on urban education and implement school programs that support student success.
esther says
IKEA ME!!!! Pretty please!! Seeing how I have five kids taking a year off would be hard to do. But then again I have five kids so I volunteer every day!
Mary says
Ikea ME!
I’m an RN with a tender heart towards homeless people. I would spend my year in shelters doing whatever was needed of me and my nursing skills.
Martha says
IKEA Me! It’s a toss-up between devoting myself to improving water quality (I’m already involved) and starting a program for my husband’s school to provide food on the weekends for hungry children. One boy asked my husband, an elementary teacher, for a box of macaroni and cheese so he could eat that weekend. Sure there are plenty of food pantries in the community, but the parents have to actually go get the food.
christine says
IKEA Me!
If I had a year to help others, I would try to develop a program that would assist women into the workforce, women who have been in an abusive, controlling marriage and have had the courage to leave a bad situation. So many of these women have been controlled by their husbands… I’d like to offer them resources that would help make it possible for them to support themselves and their children (i.e. childcare, housing, transportation)…
Holly Messner says
IKEA ME!
I would open a coffee shop that employed former gang members.
Bethany Elston says
IKEA ME!! I would start a program that gives free counseling to low-income women struggling with post-partum depression. It’s a much-overlooked area where lots of help is needed.
Madelaine says
IKEA ME!
There are so many worthy projects I would like to get involved with and spend time helping, local animal shelters, after school programs, volunteering at the soup opera, etc. If I had a year, I would plan to spend a day or two a week at a few places, spread the love it you will.
Monse says
IKEA Me! I would volunteer helping veterans, giving back a little considering they give a lot! :)
Dreda Young says
Ikea me! I think I would enjoy working in a community gardening or nutrition program.
Michelle says
Ikea ME!!!!
cassie says
IKEA ME!
I’d love to spend a year helping families reduce their carbon footprint..
Ashley says
IKEA Me!
I’d spend a year creating after-school programs at inner-city schools here in Detroit.
amanda says
Ikea me…teaching in Baltimore City there is a lot I would love to do with the children
Suzy says
IKEA ME!
I think I’d mix it up for a year… Do some work with animals, plants some trees on the weekend, and maybe work with kids in the afternoon!