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| IKEA Giheung Market Manager Anje Heim, left, poses with Save the Children Korea director Jeong Tae-young at the latter's headquarters in Mapo-gu, Seoul, in this photo released Monday. Courtesy of IKEA Korea |
By Nam Hyun-woo
IKEA Korea said Monday it has donated profits it generated by selling consumer-designed soft toys to a nongovernmental organization for children, as part of its commitment to promote children's right to play.
According to the home furnishing firm, it has donated 35 million won ($29,230) to the "Save the Playground" campaign run by Save the Children.
The amount is the revenue of the company's SAGOSKATT soft toys, a collection that was designed by children who participated in IKEA's soft toy drawing competition last year.
Save the Playground is a campaign aimed at improving the environment in which children play and promoting better recognition of children's right to play. IKEA Korea participated in Save the Playground for the third consecutive year.
The donation will be used to build a playground at Gongse Elementary School in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and staffers at the IKEA Giheung store will participate in the design process.
"It is a great pleasure to contribute to the improvement of children's lives for the third consecutive year," IKEA Giheung Market Manager Anje Heim said. "We will continue to offer support to allow more children to play in a safe environment."
As part of IKEA Foundation's campaign of "Let's Play for Change," the home furnishing brand has been holding a soft toy drawing competition every year at its outlets all across the world.
IKEA said it is promoting the fact that every child has the right to play as guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the company is working to improve the playing environment for both children and adults.
The winning design of the soft toy drawing competition is produced into a SAGOSKATT plush toy collection every year available at all IKEA outlets across the world. IKEA Korea has been donating the profits from sales of the collection to Save the Children since 2018 and has improved the playing facilities at Buheung Elementary School in Incheon and Naengcheon Elementary School in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
