IKEA will soon be launching its 2nd annual Brighter Lives for Refugees (BLFR) campaign. The campaign will see the company donate €1 in aid — to support the UNHCR light refugee camps — for every LED bulb purchased at its stores between the dates of February 1st and March 29th, 2015. Last year’s BLFR campaign saw the company raise $10.6 million in support globally.
These funds are reportedly spent making refugee camps safer and more suitable “for the families who live there.” This is done largely through the distribution of solar lanterns, fuel-efficient stoves, and related items. As it stands currently, there are roughly 13 million refugees supported, to some degree or other, by UNHCR (more on that here). An estimated half of these are children.
Some of the things that the funds were used for were detailed in an email sent to CleanTechnica:
Part of the funds from last year’s campaign have been used to help over 11,000 Syrian refugees living in Azraq refugee camp, Jordan, by providing families with a solar-powered lantern, which can be used for mobile-phone charging and as a light source so families can carry on with their everyday activities. Solar lanterns allow girls and boys to study after dark, helping them with their education and progress in school. Lanterns and solar street lights mean that adults can continue working and communities can have social gatherings after sunset.
Something worth noting, while we’re on the subject, IKEA is planning to sell nothing but LEDs — as far as lighting goes — by the beginning of 2016, as per the company’s previous statements.
Image Credit: IKEA
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