Ikea Qatar has announced the conclusion of its annual Soft Toys for Education campaign, which began in November 2013 in association with Unicef and Qatar Charity (QC).

Between November 10 (2013) and January 4 (2014) for every soft toy sold at Ikea, Ikea Foundation donated QR5 to Unicef. This donation was utilised within Unicef’s many education
programmes globally.

As a “give twice” initiative, customers were also encouraged to donate Ikea soft toys within designated collection boxes located in the store. The campaign collected 900 soft toys, which were handed out by QC to children in need across Qatar.

John Kersten, managing director of Ikea Qatar, UAE, Egypt and Oman, said: “While this is the first time we are running this campaign in Qatar, the Ikea Soft Toys for Education campaign has been active globally since 2003. This year, we extended our long-standing partnership with Unicef as well as welcomed Qatar Charity into this initiative.”

Dr Ibrahim el-Ziq, Gulf area representative of Unicef, said: “The commitment and hard work of the partnership between Ikea and Unicef is a testimony to the fact that we believe this to be a longstanding
relationship.”

Ibrahim bin Abdullah al-Mohannadi, executive director, QC, said: “The campaign is a beautiful thought that goes beyond just global problems to also include the immediate local environment and its needs. This is a very strong commitment towards Qatar on the part of both partners and we hope to continue this partnership for a very long time.”