As of last May, teens in Eagle Mountain have a new place to get the help they need with everything from homework to food assistance thanks in part to IKEA Draper. The store partnered with Rockwell Charter School to create the Rockwell Community Teen Center, donating $25,000 in products to furnish it. 

Andrea Rivers, loyalty manager at IKEA Draper, said, “The Teen Center is really going to be focused on giving support to teens and families that need resources to help them be successful.”  

Rivers explained that while IKEA has a corporate foundation that contributes on a global level to organizations like Doctors Without Borders, individual IKEA stores seek to make a difference in their local communities. “We have an IKEA community impact plan,” she said. “We write a specific strategy every year.” 

IKEA Draper’s current focus is providing underprivileged youth with the essentials that they need to thrive. “We know that we can’t do it ourselves,” Rivers explained. “We look to partner with other organizations, building bridges in the community.” 

IKEA’s partnership with the Rockwell Charter School exemplifies that mission. In a press release, Anke Weimann-Botha, director of Student and Family Services at the school, stated, “IKEA’s generous contribution has been transformative for our Teen Center project. Their furniture and delivery services donation has enabled us to create a welcoming, functional space that truly feels like a home away from home for our youth.”

The new Teen Center has been designed to help local youth in many different ways. It is a welcoming space where teens can come to just hang out with friends. They can also get help with school work, receive counseling, do laundry, shower and get food. While the Teen Center is affiliated with Rockwell Charter School, its doors are open to the whole community of Eagle Mountain. Rivers said that it serves approximately 70 families or about 300 people. 

Weimann-Botha said that the Teen Center evolved out of the recognition that some students at Rockwell Charter School had food insecurity. “I volunteered in the school lunch room,” she said. “I saw a kid literally eat out of the trash can.” While the school already had a small food pantry started by one of the teachers, Weimann-Botha approached the administration and volunteered to run a larger pantry. 

“It was just an empty space,” she said. “It’s growing rapidly, beyond what I expected.” Utah Food Bank stepped in and the Teen Center is now one of the first places in the area that it delivers to. 

“I know there are angels out there,” Weimann-Botha said of the many people who volunteer at the Teen Center. Rockwell Charter School faculty members and counselors volunteer their time to help kids with homework and therapy after school hours. Students who partake of the services offered at the Teen Center also contribute. “The kids help out with cleaning and unpacking food,” she said. “They’re paying back a little.”

The Rockwell Community Teen Center is just one example of a partnership through which IKEA Draper seeks to make a difference in the community. They are also working with the Draper-based nonprofit HomeAid, which helps homeless and displaced families, by hosting a diaper drive. 

“In August we’re having a diaper drive in our parking lot,” Rivers said. “We want to get a million diapers donated, enough to provide for the whole state.” Before they are donated, the diaper boxes will be fashioned into tiny homes displayed in the IKEA parking lot to draw attention to the cause. 

IKEA Draper has also invited school field trips to the store for kids to learn about sustainability and interior design. In 2023, IKEA’s interior design team worked with students at Channing Hall in Draper to create a mural celebrating diversity.

In a press release about the opening of the Teen Center, Rivers stated, “IKEA Draper believes that children are the most important people in the world. We aim to create lasting, positive impacts that strengthen communities and support the growth and development of future generations.” 

“We do take community inquiries,” she said. “We are always looking for partners that are aligned with our IKEA values and that can help us make a large impact.” λ