IKEA Burlington has always been involved in making its community a better place to live. From helping plant over 20,000 trees in nearby neighbourhoods to supporting Halton’s Student Nutrition Program, giving back has always been a priority for IKEA Burlington.
So it’s no wonder that a company that helps transform the interior of a house into a home would partner with Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga-Dufferin.
A cup of coffee and a meeting with Nicole Blake, IKEA Family Marketing Specialist, solidified our partnership, and our Crew-Goetz Landing build project in Burlington, benefited by hosting IKEA Burlington employees for a Habitat Team Day. Brian Fortier, Communications for IKEA Burlington says, “One of the exciting aspects about the IKEA Burlington store is that the co-workers care so much about their community and they want to make an impact for those around them.”
On a warm October day, IKEA Burlington co-workers exchanged their Allen keys for a hammer and nails and showed us that they could build more than flat pack furniture.
Brian explains, “It opened my eyes to see how much enjoyment everybody had from the start to the finish. There wasn’t anybody lagging or getting tired. They were still filled with a lot of motivation, seeing that we created several external walls that didn’t exist at the beginning of the day. It empowered a lot of my co-workers to delve into a part of themselves that they didn’t know was possible.”
To further support their belief in sustainability and reducing waste, IKEA co-workers also came out to spend the day in our ReVive Centre. They used their creativity to transform tired and damaged pieces into revived furniture ready for sale on the ReStore floor.
Fast forward to November 14th and “Take our kids to work day”, where IKEA’s Brian Fortier knocked on our door with an idea. “What if we had our kids design and build an IKEA children’s bedroom, complete with bedding, and we will donate it to Habitat HM to help raise money to send deserving children to the ‘Habitat Kids’ Build Camp’ this summer?”
Our answer was a resounding yes, please and thank you.
This latest donation with a retail value of over $1000 will be auctioned to the highest bidder. This could benefit five deserving children and give them the chance to go to a ‘Habitat Kids’ summer camp, an experience that their parents would otherwise not be able to afford.
Our partnership with IKEA Burlington continues to surprise and delight us and we look forward to all the possibilities ahead in 2019.
“There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing the impact affecting those that need it most and making sure our products are being used in the best possible ways,” said Brian. “Impacting society in a positive way is a win-win.”
We couldn’t have said it better. Tack så mycket, IKEA Burlington.
By: Julie Svensson Watt
Updated: July 5, 2021