*** 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.
Jessica M J says
IKEA ME!
I would spend one year working with no-kill shelters, it breaks my heart to hear about the number of euthanized animals each year.
Lynn van Slyke says
“IKEA Me””
I would love to spend a year planning and implementing a community garden. Ask expert gardeners to volunteer time to teach the community how to grow their own fruits and vegetables and teach the community the tricks of the trade to maintain a home garden easily. Give a man a vegetable feed him for a day. Teach him to garden feed him for a lifetime,
Anna @ the owl & the phoenix says
IKEA ME!!
If I had a year off to be philanthropic, I’d definitely get to work setting up an animal sanctuary for all types of animals. I think there are a lot of animals who are very loved, but whose owners just can’t take care of them anymore (for whatever reason). I’d love to create a place for those animals to go either permanently or temporarily.
Tracy Schinzel says
IKEA ME!!!
i would love to spend a year starting different programs to help children in the foster care system.
Callie says
IKEA me! I think it would be cool for my husband and I to be missionaries somewhere overseas.
carley says
IKEA ME!!
If I could spend a year helping people, I would want to help families in our country who don’t have a warm place to live or food to eat each night. I have worked in the past with children who are lucky for a free school lunch each day, as it is really all they get to eat, and I feel for families who work hard and still have so little.
Elizabeth says
“IKEA Me!” I’d love to redo our downstairs bathroom!
Sarah says
IKEA ME!!!
work at a resuce charity for cats of some sort.
Cathy says
IKEA ME!
If I had one year to volunteer, I would spend it teaching youn girls to love themselves and to practice abstinence. So many girls are becoming moms at such a young age and having to grow up too quickly.
Andie says
IKEA ME!
Sarah K says
IKEA ME!!
I would love to spend that year working with Habitat for Humanity…a great organization!
sara says
IKEA ME!!!!!
If I had the money I would open a non-profit women’s and children’s health center that provided pregnancy counseling, childbirth education, provided evidence based care, and had a birth center. Someday….
kelly branderhorst says
IKEA ME!
I would spend the year helping children in need of good homes and lots of love – right here in our own country.
Thuy says
IKEA Me!
I would spend a year funding and working to spay and neuter all the feral, homeless, and abandoned cats in my city so that I can reduce animal overpopulation. I currently volunteer at the shelter and they have to put down 100-200 cats every month because there’s no homes for them and no room in the shelter. :(
P.S. I’m watching the Nate Berkus show right now and you guys are on it!!
sarah says
IKEA ME!
If I could spend a year helping others, I would love to help animals. I would love to start a stray animal rescue that helps find good homes for animals in need. I know there are already a ton out there, but there are still a lot of animals that are euthanized every day, so the need for rescue is still be great.
Jessica F says
IKEA Me! I would spend the year helping our humane society!
Anne says
IKEA ME!
I would take a year and help out my moms nonprofit, which works with mental challenged adults. Help rebuild their website and anything they might need.
Lacey says
IKEA Me! I would spend a year helping women going through various transitions; those that are going through divorce, widowed, college grads, job changes, newlyweds, etc. I would set up a financial planning, life planning, job training, etc office and help those women in need!
Amy says
IKEA me!!!
I would spend a year helping the flood victims, here in Nashville, TN, to rebuild! My old neighborhood was completely destroyed!
laurie says
IKEA Me!
I’d spend a year loving kids all over the world. Doing whatever I could to make little lives better.
Melissa says
IKEA ME!
That’s a tough decision… I’d have to choose between helping build affordable housing, helping underprivileged kids with school, and supporting women’s rights. What a wonderful thing for IKEA to do! =)
Anna says
IKEA me! I would spend my time as a foster parent. I would also serve on the board for our local foster care agency.
Jamie S says
IKEA Me!
I’d go back to Kathmandu Nepal and work in the education system – ensuring the kids get more of a leg up.
Cassie says
IKEA me!
I spend a lot of my free time volunteering with the local Humane Association and would love to spend a year with them promoting adoption and responsible pet ownership.
Maggie says
IKEA Me!
If I could spend a year helping people, I’d start a therapeutic riding program to help people who have been injured. Time around and riding horses is very healing.
Stephanie says
IKEA me!
I’d do something to help people that were laid off, had a foreclosure, etc. get back on their feet.
Katie says
IKEA ME!
What a fabulous idea on the part of Ikea. Through my teacher education program, I’ve truly come to appreciate how beneficial after school programs are. I’d probably spend half of the year working on a program based around the arts and future careers, and the other half I would devote to humanitarian work overseas. Not only would the local community benefit, but I’d want to benefit the global community as well.
Lisa W says
IKEA ME!
I would spend a year setting up Fit Clubs in our community where people could exercise and learn about nutrition for free, without any judgment of size and ability. I do this 2 days a week now, but I don’t have a lot of time to focus on advertising it all over the community.
Anna says
IKEA ME!
If I had the opportunity to donate my time I would want to volunteer to help tutor and inspire the children in failing school districts.
Karen J says
IKEA me! I would want to teach financial literacy to children, teenagers and/or young adults. As a “reformed” CPA I am shocked and disgusted by the awful financial decisions people make on a daily basis… so much debt and so little savings! It’s dismaying.
Cassie says
KEA Me
If I could have a year to build and help with a program I’d like to do 2 things in 1. First, there would be an on-sight childcare service to watch children, while 2. A program to teach people how to make a personalized budget. Show them how to pay off their debt, while living on what they make, and not more. Money is such a hard subject to discuss sometimes that having a professional help lay it out for you would be an amazing motivator. Especially when you see “we could be out of debt by ___ date”.
Lauren C says
Ikea Me! I think if I could spend a year doing something that helps people, I would want to work on a project that helps older foster children find families or even just positive adult mentors who stay in their lives after they turn 18.
Kelley says
Ikea me!!
I would spend the year helping others get fit.
Jenifer says
IKEA Me!
I would do the after school thing, helping kids out with homework and creating programs to give them a place to stay out of trouble.
SFDC says
IKEA Me, what a giveaway! I would spend a year focused on improving schools in urban centers.
Alix says
IKEA ME!
I would work with a local organization that is raising money to build a youth center in a lower income area of our town.
renee says
IKEA ME!
I’d mentor single parents (because that’s the hardest job out there) and teenage girls.
Jennifer says
IKEA, ME!!! Pa-LEEZE!
If I had the opportunity, I’d organize a Thrift Shop with profits going to abandoned, stray and abused animals.
Katie says
IKEA ME!
Definitely an animal shelter!
jess says
IKEA Me!! i dream of this!! spending my time travelling all around the globe, joining up and lending my hand to various organizations, leaving things better than when i found them…
kristen chastine says
IKEA ME!!!!!!!! (pretty please)
I would love to be able to spend the money working to get clean water to villages in communities across the world that don’t currently have that “luxury”. I would also like to spread awareness to others in America about what they can do to help with this effort. As American’s, we take so many things, such as drinking water, for granted.
Katie says
IKEA ME! I would want to improve TB education and treatment… go public health woo!
jared says
IKEA ME!!
i’m a sucker for animals, i would help out our animal shelter
Amanda Driscoll says
IKEA Me!
I think working with Habitat for Humanity would be an amazing!
Rebecca says
“IKEA me!”
I would really love to volunteer at my daughters school. They can always use the extra hands and it would free up resources for other more critical projects!
Tina says
IKEA me!
I’d dedicate time, money, energy toward protecting the girls victimized by sex slavery.
ally says
IKEA me!
I’d volunteer with the peace corps.
Dan says
IKEA me!
I would love to reach out to children from broken homes or unfortunate situations. They need long term mentoring and they need hope in the future. I wish to empower them to change their situations and improve their lives.
EdgyK says
IKEA ME!!!!
I would also use it in my community and help people learn how to organize and declutter their homes. I really believe a home should be a sanctuary and a place you want to go and importantly a place where you can find your stuff. Thanks for this giveaway. What a treat it will be.
angie says
IKEA ME! fun giveaway!
As a photographer, I would love to go to families experiencing heartaches or difficulties, and photograph the beauty in their lives, and give them gifts of memories for their walls and albums.