IKEA co-workers (employees) are instrumental to the success of the soft toy campaign and IKEA's overall partnership with UNICEF. Following the 2011 campaign, two IKEA co-workers from top performing IKEA stores in the United States were selected to have the opportunity to travel to see UNICEF's programs and the impact of IKEA's donations for children firsthand. These co-workers - Andrea Sorensen and Deandrea Flick - will be traveling to South Africa next week on a UNICEF-hosted trip.
Meet the co-workers!
Deandrea Marie Flick
Activiy Sales Manager, IKEA West Chester
What are you looking forward to the most about your trip to South Africa?
"Seeing all the wonderful things UNICEF does. I donate to many children's organizations here locally, but would love to do more hands on. Being with the children and working with UNICEF will take me to the next level. My husband and I also love to help Cincinnati Children's Hospital, St Jude's organization, Habitat for Humanity, and our local store charity, Reach Out Lakota."
What inspired you to be so involved in making the Soft Toy Campaign a success?
"I have always loved children and have a very strong passion for their well being. Also, I struggled with education myself from second grade on. I was lucky to have specialists to help me grow and understand. Many children do not have things like that."
"I am a Godmother to three children that I helped raise since birth: Justine (4 years), Michael (5 years), and Maximo (7 years). I felt there was always a reason that I never had a child myself; and my husband and I were put on this earth to help take care of the children that need us."
Andrea Sorensen
Interior Design Co-worker, IKEA Draper
What are looking forward to the most about your trip to South Africa?
"This is still unbelievable to me. This trip reinforces my strong feelings about giving and service. The smallest $0.49 toy can make a huge difference. I am looking forward to seeing firsthand the great impact we really make from selling soft toys. I want to share with my store that it's not about increasing sales, it's about saving and changing lives. "I am also very excited to work with UNICEF and the people in South Africa. My grandmother is from South Africa and it will be interesting to see where she came from. I am so incredibly thankful to my store for selecting me and to IKEA and UNICEF for making this possible."
What inspired you to be so involved in making the Soft Toy Campaign a success?
"I am a mother to a lovely 6-year-old girl. She was my inspiration and drive for participating in the soft toy campaign."
"She is very giving and sympathetic. I had worn my UNICEF buttons home from work and had them sitting on my sideboard so I would remember to grab them the next day. My daughter asked me what they were for and I explained to her that we could help kids in need to have a better education and a better everyday life simply by buying toys. She couldn't believe it! She has had a piggy bank for most of her life and it has never been touched for anything. My daughter got a huge smile on her face and I could see the idea in her head light up. She wanted to donate $2.00 to buy soft toys for kids. After a few minutes she came back up to me and told me that she was going to do something even better. She was going to give me $3.00! My eyes welled up with tears. I am so proud of her."
Stay tuned to Fieldnotes for blog posts from Deandrea and Andrea. You can also follow @icoworker on twitter and the hashtag #IKEAvisitsAfrica for live updates of their field visit.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/unicefusa/fieldnotes/~3/CvHd7FW0Fss/ikea_visits_south_africa.html
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