IKEA Partnership: Unveiling the New Family Room & Children’s Play Area at Center on Halsted
By Ben Sprunger, Manager of Individual Giving
Though I’ve worked in development for more than eight years now — co-chairing fundraising galas, crafting end-of-year appeal letters, researching and writing grant proposals, and hosting cultivation events for prospective donors — seldom has the possibility of a project fallen into my lap and — BOOM! — five and a half months later been realized in such a vibrant, promising, and wholly satisfying way.
I joke with my colleagues here at Center on Halsted (COH), that the recent completion of our new Butler-Vanderlinden Children’s Play Area feels like part of my legacy — even though, in retrospect, I feel like I did very little to bring it to fruition. No, the project mostly came about due to the Center’s visibility as an LGBTQ+ resource and community asset for more than 15 years. (49 years if you remember our humble beginnings as Gay Horizons!) That, and the hard work of our (new!) friends at IKEA Schaumburg.
But let me backtrack a bit.
On February 25, 2022, an unsolicited email arrived in the inbox of our CEO, Modesto Tico Valle. The email was from IKEA Schaumburg Communication & Events Specialist Marisa Anstey, who wanted to start a conversation with someone at COH about the possibility of a partnership between our two organizations.
After an initial phone call between Tico and Marisa, I was asked to follow-up and continue the discussion. Marisa and I initially talked about how, down the road, we’d need donated furniture (beds, dressers, nightstands, desks, sofas, chairs, etc.) to expand the housing services the Center already provides to homeless LGBTQ+ youth.
(More information on that expansion here.)
But knowing the full realization of that project was still several months away, my mind turned to more immediate needs right here at Center on Halsted.
Earlier in the pandemic, COH had converted a modestly-sized children’s play area into two private examination rooms for our ongoing work with HIV/AIDS & STI Testing & Prevention.
Concurrently, plans were drawn up to transform an existing 18’ x 24’ conference room into a new, larger playspace. Though work on the examination rooms was nearing completion in March of 2022, the new children’s area was still relatively raw. Beyond a few bookcases, it was empty — a blank canvas.
I mentioned this possibility to Marisa and, at her enthusiastic recommendation, I submitted a proposal under IKEA Corporate’s People & Communities focus area. The proposal outlined how COH recognizes that more LGBTQ+ couples and individuals are having children than ever before.
(A fact supported by the Williams Institute.)
And that because of this, we are eager to be able to offer a dedicated, welcoming, safe space within our building to this rapidly expanding population of parents, guardians, and children.
Similarly, with the requested donation of design services, products, and installation, IKEA’s involvement in helping refurbish the Butler-Vanderlinden Children’s Play Area would underscore the company’s commitment to supporting the diversity found among today’s families.
On April 7, the proposal was approved.
A flurry of emails about blueprints, measurements, site visits, and donated products followed over the next three months.
It was all very exciting — but not as exciting as the actual installation, which took place over two days in August.
Within hours, a drab conference room was transformed!
A colorful mural was installed over soundproofing panels, the room was adorned with carpeting and cushions, toy boxes were bursting with stuffed animals.
A whimsical Willy Wonka-esque couch anchored an area for storytime, shelves were installed to hold dozens of donated books, an abundance of art supplies spilled out of modular containers, imaginative mobiles hung from the ceiling.
On our collective lunch break I got to sit down with the IKEA team to express my gratitude and share more about the programs and services Center on Halsted provides to the LGBTQ+ community.
No sooner had the IKEA team left after wrapping up the installation than — and I kid you not — a neighborhood nanny showed up with three children in tow.
I still have no idea how word got out so fast, but within hours the room was abuzz with activity and squeals of delight. (Imagine an extreme home makeover show where the design team ultimately unveils their work to wide-eyed, rambunctious children rather than homeowners, and you get the idea.)
Since then, whenever I pass the children’s play area I am always thrilled to see it in use.
Which is all to say, if you have young children I hope you’ll feel welcome to stop by with them and enjoy it for yourselves.
Endless thanks to Marisa at IKEA Schaumburg for championing this partnership from the very beginning.
Thanks also to the whole IKEA crew of more than 20 artists, designers, and installers who made this project a reality.
I know I speak on behalf of all my colleagues at Center on Halsted when I say that we are very much looking forward to our next opportunity to work together!
If you’d like to support the Center’s Youth & Family Services department (including the Butler Vanderlinden Children’s Play Area) by making a donation, click here.
Or, you could choose to purchase something from our Amazon Youth & Family Services registry!
