Conshohocken, PA – As the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy is still felt by many, IKEA and Save the Children, along with UPS have teamed up to help refurnish 39 early childhood development centers in some of the hardest hit areas of New York and New Jersey.

IKEA will be donating over $100,000 of IKEA furnishings including bookcases, children’s tables and chairs, cribs, desks, blankets and more to devastated child care centers that Save the Children is helping to restore, as well as to Save the Children’s Brooklyn field office. UPS will be donating their delivery services to get the products to all the centers.

Hurricane Sandy flooded, damaged and destroyed infant and toddler rooms and classrooms in hundreds of New Jersey and New York child care centers, jeopardizing the future well being of thousands of children. Save the Children makes child care recovery a focus of its emergency work so that children can return to a safe place to emotionally recover and to continue their development, often as their families struggle to put their lives back together and get back to work. Unlike schools, many child care centers are not eligible for federal assistance.

“The child care centers we are working with are incredibly committed to helping their children bounce back from the upheaval they’ve experienced and their role in doing so is incredibly important,” said Kathy Spangler, Save the Children’s Vice President for US programs. “It’s wonderful that our partners IKEA and UPS are helping these centers build back to the high standards everyone wants for children who have been through so much.”

IKEA and Save the Children have been working together for over ten years to better the lives of millions of children in the US as well as in developing countries. Some of these programs include the annual IKEA Soft Toys for Education program and the US Early Steps to School Success initiative.

About IKEA:

IKEA, the world's largest home furnishings retailer, was founded in 1943 in Sweden. Since that time, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design, quality and function at low prices so the majority of people can afford them. There are currently more than 340 IKEA stores in 42 countries, including 38 in the U.S. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information, see IKEA-USA.com, facebook.com/IKEAUSA, @DesignByIKEA, and http://pinterest.com/IKEAUSA/.

Source: IKEA