Ikea Starts 3rd Life Improvement Project

October 18, 2012  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on October 19, 2012

Home furnishings retailer Ikea has kicked off its third annual Life Improvement Project to encourage consumers to make a positive impact on their homes, family and community.

Through the year-long initiative, Ikea is encouraging people to share what they do to improve their lives at home, and to learn from the life improvement tips of others. With each project submitted or shared, the retailer will make a contribution to a Save the Children educational program. 

Consumers can visit online to submit ideas and to be inspired by others' life improvement projects, from saving time through better organization to reducing household bills by changing to energy-efficient light bulbs.

To submit a project, contributors choose a room of the home, write a short blurb, and share photos or videos. 

A virtual "Life Improvement House" will populate and grow as projects are submitted. Users can browse through the house for inspiration and mark and share their favorites.

For each submitted or shared project, Ikea will make a $1 donation (up to $50,000) to Save the Children's Early Steps for School Success program serving children in need throughout the United States. In addition to supporting a worthwhile cause, consumers will have weekly and monthly opportunities to win Ikea gift cards to help bring their favorite ideas to life in their own home. 

"We believe that making a positive impact in your home can be fun and easy," said Lisa Allen, Ikea Life Improvement Project leader. "With the Life Improvement Project, we hope to collect creative, simple, and practical ideas that have worked in real people's homes and to build a community of people who can really help to inspire one another." 

As part of the program, Ikea has enlisted a team of trusted home expert contributors - entertainment expert Amy Atlas, interior designer Erin Gates, green home guru Cathy Hobbs, and master life coach Susan Hyatt - to share their expertise and individual life improvement journeys. In addition, acclaimed journalist and television host Lisa Ling has partnered with Ikea to serve as program ambassador to help encourage people to share their life improvement stories. 

"Throughout the project, we'll be collecting and sharing inspirational stories, something I'm very familiar with as a journalist," said Ling, whose most recent own life improvement project was building the first LEED Platinum-certified home in Santa Monica, Calif. "By participating, you're not only bettering your own home but also helping children in need." 

In addition, as part of the ongoing Ikea commitment to improving all the places we call home, Ikea will also issue the "Life Improvement Challenge" to teams of Ikea co-workers to support local community projects. Ikea will provide a total of $500,000 worth of home furnishings, services, design expertise and manpower for this effort.

Co-worker teams will submit their community project proposals, which will be voted on by their peers. Consumers will then help pick the 38 winning projects by voting for their favorite finalists starting in February.  Winning projects will be announced in the spring.