*** 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.
Raquel says
IKEA me! I would set up a language line so that limited english proficient people could access government and emergency services with interpreters in many languages. I would start with setting up a procedure to access help and then it could be replicated nation wide.
Sara says
IKEA Me! I would spend a year working with the county on getting a grant and re-vamping curriculum to teach court-mandated parenting courses.
Cassie says
ikea me!!
if i could spend a year helping others, i’d use it to empower women to get in touch with their authentic selves and live a life filled with intention and meaning. so often, as women, we get caught up doing what is expected of us and helping others that we forget to look within and take the time to get to know ourselves.
Katie says
IKEA Me!
I would spend a year teaching children, and their parents and benefits of a healthy lifestyle and how healthy choices are important.
Andrea says
IKEA ME!
I’d rescue animals, no question.
edie says
IKEA ME! I’d travel around my home state teaching kids the importance of learning to garden, veggie garden that is! teach kiddies where their food comes from.
je§ica says
I would help take care of children of single parents. It would be an environment that provided love and respect, growth and development.
Candace P says
Please Ikea me! I need to organize my kid’s toy area!
If I could take a year off, I would start a free yoga program for teenage girls who are struggling with self-esteem or other problems.
Nicole says
IKEA ME!
I would spend a year rescuing animals. There are so many being abandoned now in our current economy, so there’s an even greater need than normal.
anna c says
Ikea me
i’d like to do something for inner city/ underprivileged kids.
Susan E. says
Ikea Me!! I just saw Jane Goodall speak, so now I am inspired to help her cause of preserving the habitat in Tanzania and to also help the local communities!
Annette says
IKEA me!
i have a heart for adults w/ disabilities…
Katie says
IKEA ME!!!
If I had aa year off- well- I’m a stay-at-home mom so I guess I couldn’t really take a year off, but if I was given money to help follow a dream I would either help new moms adapt to their new baby or I would help out in a low income school or crisis pregnancy center dealing with teen moms
Janice says
IKEA ME!!!!!!!!
If I had a year off I would volunteer with the elderly more. I think they are usually a forgotten resource of love, wisdom and honesty…
Paul says
IKEA me!
I’d love to return to the rural community I once visited in Guatemala… after keeping the bills paid “back” home, the remainder of the $100,000 would go a LONG LONG LONG way in Guatemala.
OR
maybe I’d spend the year working with a local non-profit that serves at-risk youth.
Erica says
IKEA Me!
I would love to be able to reach out to kids who can’t afford books.
Lisa nedset says
IKEA me. I would create craft/art programs at local nursing homes.
Sheryl J says
IKEA ME!
I’m in the military, so taking a year off wouldn’t work for me. If I could I would love to be a full time Big Sister for many kids and adopt a couple of different pets.
Holly says
IKEA ME!
I would work with a school in a high risk, low-income area, and provide free job advice and financial literacy lessons for the parents of the school children.
lauren kay says
IKEA ME!
I would donate all my time and resources to children coping with abuse.
Rikke says
IKEA me! If I could I would volunteer/support programs to introduce classical and world music to city neighborhoods.
Erika says
IKEA. ME.
Please!! I would love to start a child’s center at the Caron Foundation.
Justine says
IKEA ME!
I would spend my year spending time with kids in foster care who really need someone to just love them and make them feel special.
Michele says
IKEA me!!
A year spent helping others? Continue working to help people access and navigate the courts where I work; provide even more direct and hands on assistance to help them improve their lives.
Clare says
IKEA ME!
I would take the time off to refresh after school programs for urban youth!
Jennifer says
IKEA me!
I’d volunteer to help children that don’t have a good support system. I’d love to volunteer at an existing program like Big Brothers Big Sisters or start a new one in my hood.
Love your blog!
david joseph says
Ikea me. I would work at animal shelters to promote no-kill policies.
Allison L says
IKEA ME!!!
If I had a year to create a non-profit project –
I would start a community garden in my city, and create an after school program for kids where they could learn about healthy eating and help out in the garden, and take the home grown veggies to their families.
Karina says
IKEA me!
I would spend my year working with special needs orphans from 3 world countries-they have so much love to give and so few people who put in the time.
Lindsey says
IKEA Me!
Wow awesome giveaway!
cheep3r5 says
IKEA me! One year of time to help. Almost overwhelming to think about.
Leann says
IKEA me! (please :)
If I had a year off I would start a center for teenage children in the area to prepare for college or life after high school.
Kristen says
IKEA me!
I would work with the rural poor in my area.
MaryAnn says
Ikea ME! I would open or fund a local food pantry. Nothing tugs at my heart strings more than a hungry person. One meal can provide so much hope for a person in need.
Iva says
IKEA Me!
with a year off, I would try to support promotion of breastfeeding – both for its nutritional value but also for the bonding time that it brings. I truly believe that it makes a difference in the lives of children (that carries over to their adult years) and people are forgetting what it means – it is very unusual to see a toddler still nursing, there is no shortage of Moms to told to cover up for breastfeeding in public, neither of Moms whose breastfeeding efforts are sabotages by hospital staff offering samples from formula companies, …
I should stop, but it’s not easy (as my husband says – when I get going on this topic, there is no escape for anyone…) but yeah, I would really like a year of doing this
Elizabeth Miner says
IKEA Me! I’d LOVE to take a year off and photograph children – those who are living in foster care, orphanages, awards of the state etc. – who will likely grow up without photos of themselves enjoying life and have nothing to show of who they were as children when they grow up to be adults. Can you imagine looking back on your life and not having a single photo to show what you looked like at 4 or 8 or 12? To know how you’ve changed? To be able to show their children one day and be able to say “you look like me at that age.” That’s what I would do with one year.
Karen says
IKEA Me!
I guess I’d play to my strengths, for that one-year sabbatical, and work on developing more online history/educational resources on my nerdy hobby site — probably also volunteer at my favorite living history site, too!
kate says
IKEA ME!
with $100,000 i’d set up a formal program to help all the refugees in our area acclimate and learn how to navigate the school system/getting a job/figuring out health insurance etc. etc.
Dana @ House*Tweaking says
“IKEA ME!” A year off?…Hmmm…. Since I’m a pharmacist I’d probably offer free immunization clinics in an indigenous area and also try to perk up their surroundings a little too. You know, give ’em a shot and then paint their room!
Kristi Baumgarner says
IKEA ME!
I would spend the year working with abused children or helping animals. Our doggies are our children and we treat them very well. It makes me so sad to see abused and hurt animals.
Alison says
IKEA Me!
I would spend my time working with teen girls and helping to learn to see their true value & beauty.
Summer says
IKEA Me! Been thinking for the last few hours of what I would do for a year. I think it would be helping adoptions take place, in some capacity. After recently having a baby, I have a better understanding of the full dependency that a baby has. And a need for love.
Kate L. R. says
IKEA me!!
I would spend my year working on developing the safety programs for kids that I used to work with…
Emily says
IKEA ME!!!!
A year of volunteering – hmm. It would be hard to pick just one place. I’d love to create some sort of community children’s center in my hometown for the kids to go after school!
Heather Dougherty says
IKEA ME!!!!! PLease!!!!!!!!
I would want to do so much…help families who have lost a loved one. Give them support to move on, whatever that support might be…chores, daily notes, anything to make things easier so they can focus on healing and moving on.
Another big concern for me is childcare. So many people these days have to work two jobs and child care is so expensive. I would like to offer cheap child care…that is amazing. So scary seeing horrible things happening to children in day-care or with nannys…I want to be able to offer loving care for anyone in need. (Perhaps single parents trying to better their lives…heading to school)
I would also love to volunteer WITH my children, so that they will understand how lucky we are and how we can make a difference to so many people if you take the time to show them you care.
David says
IKEA me!
I’d start a non profit for children.
Lynn says
IKEA me!
With a year off I would create community gardens in the area!
Emily Glicksman says
“IKEA Me!” I would take a year to help women in crisis pregnancy situations and/or send my sisters back to Africa to teach English to the kids in Bagamoyo, Tanzania.
Jackie says
Ikea me!!!
I would volunteer with Doctors without Borders and help needy children.
Vanessa says
Ikea Me!
I would spend the year building my non profit organization- Suds of LOVE. It’s an organization geared towards supporting the life quality issues of cancer patients and their families through the sale of homemade soap and bath products.
If I won I would totally deck out the Suds of Love office, Ikea style!!!