*** 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.
Brett says
IKEA me
Aimee says
IKEA ME!!! YIPEEEE!!!!!
HeatherJC says
IKEA ME!
I’m not sure what I’d do if I could spend a year helping others. I’d love to work with disadvantaged youth, find homes/vet care for animals, feed the hungry…the list is endless!
Stephanie D says
IKEA ME!
I love college ministry, and being able to do that and still be financially safe, that’d be nice! :)
Lisa M. says
IKEA ME!
I would start up a teen program to keep them out of trouble.
Anne says
IKEA ME! I would set up more after-school programs (other than sports) to get kids in my town away from drug dealers and going down the wrong path.
sarah p says
IKEA me! I support charities that work to end world hunger. It is unfathomable that children go to sleep hungry.
Liev says
IKEA ME! I would love to take time to teach baking for a local outreach program that works with girls who are receiving public assistance. Helping them to build a better life for themselves and their children without depending on assistance using education and developing skills that are real world useful would be a dream come true for me.
Lacey says
IKEA ME! I’d really like to work with animals, doing rescue work and helping to socialize and train troubled dogs. My husband and I also seriously looked into doing Peace Corp work for a while, and I wouldn’t mind going to another country and helping out where needed.
Cathy P says
IKEA ME
I would do any kind of volunteer work to help abused children. Children are the future.
Brenda H. says
IKEA ME!
I would start up an after school program to help out all of those working parents just like me.
kathleen says
IKEA ME!
I would take my 15 yrs. of ESL experience out into the world and find somewhere to teach where teachers are really needed and the students have a strong need to learn English. Ahhh..perhaps somewhere warm?!
MegWMcClendon says
IKEA ME. I’d work with a local homeless ministry in Atlanta. In particular, I would go to a women’s and children’s homeless shelter to help tutor the kids. I recently helped serve dinner there and was heart broken by all the kids in their school uniforms, attempting to do their homework in a room with over 150 other people, where they all also sleep. I couldn’t imagine growing up like that.
KimB says
IKEA ME! I would help children/students with their reading skills. Especially the ones who are falling behind in reading at school. I just think it is such a basic skill that every child should master and be confident in. Essential for success in all other subjects and life overall.
Andrea says
IKEA ME!
I would love to be able to do the logistics side of medical mission work. My mom is a nurse and when she went on mission trips, planning the travel or shipping supplies or figuring out where to stay, etc etc was very stressful. I’d like to be able to take care of that part for people who are willing to give their time and medical skills to help others.
Terri says
IKEA ME!!
I would love to help out at adoption agencies for abused or neglected dogs. They all deserve a loving forever home!
Kelly says
IKEA ME!! I would take a year off to rescue animals and to educate PEOPLE on the proper care of animals – including spaying and neutering! I would also work to eliminate the gassing shelters that continue to exist in the US.
Thanks for a great giveaway!
Robyn says
IKEA ME PLEASE!!!
I’d like to spend a year helping homeless adults find supportive housing, employment resources and whatever other wraparound services they need to help them get back on their feet.
Lisa says
IKEA ME please!
Charity says
Ikea me!
If I could take a year off, I would love to travel and help those that are less fortunate. Possibly building schools, teaching children..!
Shannon says
IKEA ME!
I’m big into furthering your education, so I’d want to spend time with high school kids, helping them brush up on their studies and assisting them apply to college.
Robbie says
Ikea me — I’d start a halfway house for women transitioning out of prison and pursuing higher education.
rena says
IKEA Me!
I’d go to Thailand and help build schools.
erica says
Ikea Me!
If we had a year off, I think we’d go back to Kenya! My husband can do his medical thing and I can do my teaching thing. It’s a great system.
Susannah says
IKEA ME!!!
I would go to Costa Rica with my church to help build an orphanage.
Lyssa says
IKEA ME!!! :)
Jason Marshell says
IKEA ME!!!!!!!
I would spend a year doing “Random Acts of Kindness” to various groups and people. I would finally stop and financially help for people’s car problems, I would pay for marital counseling, give a generous gift to a children’s hospital, pay for a years worth of rent for a homeless family, pay vet bills, contribute to non-profits, etc. I would not limit the financial blessings to one group but to an entire community.
Ashleigh says
Ikea Me! I would love to travel overseas to volunteer at different relief organizations. Either that or continue to help with different canine rescue groups in NC :)
Jose H. says
IKEA ME!
I would love to help out my community by starting up a program where other people can come together for the sake of fixing homes for free.
Kimm says
IKEA ME!
I would love to take a year and just help counsel kids about how to get into college and how to get scholarships.
Laura says
Ikea me! I am obsessed with that place.
Julie K says
IKEA ME
I feel like a cheater with this question as I’ve recently started to volunteer for hospice and I’m going to school to be a hospice nurse, so if I had an entire year I would just volunteer more for a year.
Thanks Ikea & YHL!!!
-Julie
Will says
Ikea me!
andria says
Ikea me!
I would love to volunteer at the Rape Recovery Center and help those that have been sexually assaulted or sexually abused in some way.
elz says
IKEA ME: I’d take a year and legislate for change. I’d lobby for child heath care reform and increased funding for cancer research. I worked in politics years ago and know that I could really affect change best that way.
Erin says
IKEA me!!!
I would LOVE to spend a year travelling the world doing something as simple as putting food and water in little bellies and alerting people to the specific problems different regions are facing.
Kathy says
IKEA ME! winning would be amazing, but even better would be to win that grant money! We have a large group of underprivileged kids who attend our church. we have done some tutoring for them, but we would love to have a daily tutoring center with all of the supplies they might need including computer/internet access and qualified instructors for subjects through high school. knowledge is power!
Emily Lerner Amico says
IKEA me! With a year off, I would work in Philadelphia’s animal shelters – and try to convert them to no kill.
Callie says
IKEA ME…I would probably spend it talking to children with diabetes since I myself was diagnosed with it as a kid and have recently started to do a little bit of this so far.
Eclectic E says
IKEA Me!!!!!
I volunteer for a program called Youth for Christ!!!! I love it!!! And would love to be more involved (like give up my day job and work with the kids all the time)!!!
Will Stern says
Ikea me!!!
Erin says
IKEA ME! I’d spend a year working with disadvantaged preschoolers to give them the best possible start in life :)
Whitney says
IKEA ME! I would love to spend a year nursing abroad! I have always wanted to go to Africa and work with project Smile or Nurses without borders to help out people who really need it.
Mia says
IKEA ME, PLEASE! I would travel around to elementary schools assisting with reading programs, to bring as many kids as possible to their grade level reading (or higher!)
Denise says
IKEA ME!
I would volunteer my time at a local hospital assisting cancer patients.
Erin says
IKEA me!
I would spend the $100k helping needy children right here in my own backyard of Washington DC – since becoming a parent, I realize how precious children are, and how they all deserve to be loved and nurtured in order to reach their fullest potential….
And I just recently decorated my new room addition almost entirely from Ikea – iit looks pretty awesome, if I do say so myself….and loved you guys on Nate yesterday – I was sure to tape it!
Mary says
Ikea Me!
I would love to spend a year mentoring in an understaffed NYC public school. The impact that one person can make in a child’s life is immeasurable and I would love to be free of my full time job to concentrate on kids.
Thanks! Mary
Heidi G says
IKEA ME! I would love to do work with missionaries and disadvantaged kids in different parts of the world.
Barbara says
IKEA ME!
I’d work on a reforestation project in Haiti. This is a country which has undergone more than its share of problems and reforesting the mountains would help stem erosion and prevent flooding.
Christina says
IKEA ME!!!
While the idea of animal rescue is appealing, I’m kinda feeling the Habitat for humanity route. I like the idea of helping to build a house for someone in need while simultaneously learning the skills I need to be an expert DIY-er for my own house. Win-win situation!