Everybody knows IKEA. It’s one of the world’s leading furnishings company, established in 40 countries around the world. What you might not know about IKEA is its social implication and dedication to help children and families in need around the world.

The IKEA Foundation works on man different fronts to provide children with the most fundamental needs: ‘a place to call home, a healthy start in life, a quality education, and a sustainable family income’. They work in collaboration with NGOs and IGOs to support a variety of programs with a long-term goal of creating a better life for millions of children. Two of their partners are UNICEF and Save The Children.

Here are some of the ways in which the IKEA Foundation has helped children in their families:

• Donation of IKEA products and financial support to the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2011 Japan earthquake and the Pakistan flooding
• Funding for UNICEF health programs in India to help 80 million children and 10 million women since 2007
• Supporting education programs in 5,000 villages in India
• Women support groups to teach women about sanitation, health, diet and also savings, how to start a small business, etc.

Currently-funded projects are estimated to benefit 100 million children! That’s a lot of children who can not only dream of a better future but now have access to it.

IKEA encourages customers to participate in their effort to make lasting changes in children’s lives in 2 ways.

SUNNAN Solar Powered Lamps – For each lamp sold, the IKEA Foundation donates one to a child living in areas without electricity. This helps children to keep up with school work because they wouldn’t be able to study after dark otherwise. So far, 700,000 lamps have been sold so 700,000 lamps have been donated to children in India and Pakistan.

IKEA Soft Toys Campaign – This campaign runs annually during the Holiday season. From November 4th to December 29th, for every soft toy sold in an IKEA store, one Euro (approximately $1.30US) is divided between UNICEF and Save The Children to fund educational projects.

The Soft Toys campaign was established in 2003 and has so far generated over $61 million to help 8 million children access educational programs. In 2011 alone, over $16 million were raised ($1 million in the US). UNICEF focused their projects in Africa, Russia and China and Save The Children supported programs to help minorities and children with disabilities access education in Asia and Eastern Europe.

I love the idea of buying a gift for my daughter while also helping a child in need. Educational projects have such a long-lasting impact for these children, it really is a great cause to support. That alone would justify encouraging the IKEA Foundation with a purchase but in case you didn’t know, IKEA soft toys and books are absolutely adorable!

There are tons of options, from animal plush to the famous DUKTIG food sets, rattles, puppets, farm sets, dolls, even mobiles, play mats and books! There is such a huge selection, you can find something for a baby as well as an older child.

For this review, I received the DUKTIG 14-Piece Vegetables Set, the DUKTIG 8-Piece Salmon Set, the Pig plush from the KLAPPAR CIRKUS collection, as well as the BARNSLIG book titled ‘The Little Fox’s Adventures’.

We already had the DUKTIG Fruit Set so I knew my daughter would love the vegetables and salmon sets. They are wonderful toys made in soft fabric, not hard plastic like most pretend food sets.

The vegetable set includes: 2 mushrooms, 2 tomatoes, 1 garlic  bulb, 1 leek, 1 cucumber, 3 carrots sewn together, 1 lettuce head, 4 detachable lettuce leaves, one basket for storage.
The salmon set includes: 1 fish which can be ‘cut’ into pieces, 2 bunches of parsley, 2 tomatoe halves that stick together with velcro, 2 lemon quarters, one tray for storage.

My daughter loves to chew them and throw them around. They are great for fine motor skills as well as pretend-play skills and vocabulary development! I can’t say enough about these sets. Truly wonderful toys and amazing gifts for little ones!

The Pig plush from the KLAPPAR CIRKUS collection is absolutely adorable. She measures approximately 13 inches. She wears a crown, has blue eye shadow, ballerina slippers and a white dress. She is such a pretty ballerina! My daughter finds her very soft and loves hugging her and giving her kisses. In the same collection, there is also a ‘strongman’ tiger, a rabbit magician, an acrobat sea lion, a clown dog, and more.

The BARNSLIG book is a really cute story about a little fox who can be obnoxious with her friends and who think she can do anything… until one night she gets lost. She misses her friends but is luckily offered shelter from a snake. The next day, her friends come and find her and she realizes she should be nice to them and also that she can’t do everything she wants. The book has about … pages and 3-5 sentences per page. It’s a good story for an older child. I read it with my daughter because she likes to look at the images. I just simplify the story for her.

To find out move about the IKEA Foundation, click here. Don’t forget to head to IKEA’s website to find toys for all the kids on your list. You’ll also be supporting a great cause through the IKEA Soft Toys Campaign and help children around the world access educational projects! Don’t forget to like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter for all the latest news and promotions.

IKEA is kindly offering one of you the chance win $30 worth of soft toys for the little ones on your list! The giveaway is open to US and will end November 15th. For your chance to win, enter the Giveaway Tools below. Good luck!

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Rachel