IKEA has launched a new range of soft toys designed by children for children, bringing their wild and wonderful imaginations to life. This year’s toy collection, called SAGOSKATT, has been designed by children from across the world who were asked to let their imagination run wild and create fantastic creatures as part of the Soft Toys Drawing Competition.
Coming to stores from 20 November 2016, these toys will kick off IKEA’s new month long “Let’s Play for Change” Campaign, where proceeds from sales of the children’s range will help to run projects devoted to children’s rights to play and develop in countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
From over 50,000 entries, ten lucky winners were picked to be given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of having their drawing recreated as part of a limited-edition range sold in stores worldwide and online. From a two-headed mythical creature, to a pastel-coloured owl the drawings are expertly transformed in to near-identical versions of the youngster’s creations to bring the exact imagination of the child to life. The ten winners are aged between 5 and 9 years of age.
Launching on UN Universal Children’s Day, the campaign is very simple: for every item of the 270-product strong play range sold between 20 November and 24 December 2016, IKEA Foundation will donate €1 to six non-profit partners. With proceeds going to Handicap International, Room to Read, Save the Children, Special Olympics, UNICEF and War Child, the Campaign will fund the creation of safe spaces for vulnerable children to play – supporting play and children’s development in some of the poorest communities in the world at a time when too few have the opportunity to do this most basic of childhood activities.
This year the Campaign aims to raise €770,000 in the UK & Ireland. As a result of the previous good cause campaign, ‘Soft Toys for Education’, the IKEA Foundation has donated a worldwide total of €88 million to support educational projects for Save the Children and UNICEF between 2003-2015 and hopes this next campaign will have the same success.
More info: IKEAfoundation.org
