UNICEF Ambassador Dustin the Turkey hosted a special story book reading to officially launch the UNICEF and IKEA Soft Toy fundraising campaign at the IKEA store in Ballymun, Dublin. For every IKEA Soft Toy, children’s book or kids meal purchased from now until December 23rd IKEA will donate one euro to education programmes worldwide supported by UNICEF.
Since the campaign started in 2003, donations from the annual IKEA Soft Toy Campaign have totalled 35.2 million euro, supporting 95 programmes in 45 nations across three continents, and helping 8 million children enjoy their right to a quality education. The goal for the 2011 IKEA Soft Toys Campaign is to raise 12 million euro.
In 2010, a record 11.4 million euro was raised in the annual holiday campaign at over 300 IKEA stores worldwide, enabling UNICEF to extend existing education programmes, expand pilot projects and initiate new efforts to improve schools and ensure children's rights to a quality education from Central and Eastern Europe through Asia and Africa. “You buy a gift for a child you love, and you help educate a child you may never know,” notes IKEA Foundation CEO Per Heggenes. “It's a chance to engage the 626 million annual visitors to IKEA stores worldwide, while expanding awareness among customers and co-workers of the power of education to transform children's lives.”
Studies show that children with an education grow up better able to take care of themselves and their future families. Yet today, 69 million children around the globe are denied their right to a quality education due to poverty, disability, displacement, discrimination or cultural customs. Funds from the IKEA Soft Toy Campaign fuel innovative UNICEF education programmes, including teacher training, bilingual learning, and schools that are child-friendly with improved sanitation and water facilities – all of these factors help children to stay healthy, stay in school and succeed. Just one euro buys enough schoolbooks and supplies for five children!
“IKEA customers and co-workers who support the Soft Toy campaign have helped us to provide a quality education to children who are often the most disadvantaged in society - orphans, those living in extreme poverty, and girls,” observes Kieran O’Brien, Director Partnerships, UNICEF Ireland. He adds, “We know that no other investment makes a lasting difference as the education of children.” To each IKEA customer who buys a soft toy one euro might seem small, but together, they make a big difference.
Paul Reid, IKEA Dublin Store Manager, “The eight million children who have to date been given the opportunity to receive a quality primary education, is a direct result of the IKEA Soft Toy Campaigns. We at IKEA Dublin are once again delighted to do our bit and be part of this unique global campaign. I would encourage all our customers to make a difference and support UNICEF’s education programmes worldwide”
Education is not only a cornerstone of the IKEA Foundation's mission and its partnerships with UNICEF, it's also key to meeting the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nation's 8-point global action plan to fight poverty, hunger and disease. Once all girls and boys have free access to education, they can learn what they need to in order to earn a living, feed their families, and stay healthy. Each euro raised through the IKEA Soft Toy Campaign really adds up to improve children's lives today and propel their families, villages, and nations forward for generations to come.