Furniture First leaders show off the “Kissing Cancer Goodbye” display in the buying group’s building in High Point during Premarket. Photo courtesy of Furniture First.
HIGH POINT — A new, turnkey initiative from national cooperative furniture buying group Furniture First is aimed at helping in the battle against cancer.
During Premarket, guests who visited its 336 S. Main St. building got a first look at a vignette punctuated by a lip-shaped settee as part of a new initiative called “Kissing Cancer Goodbye.”
“Our board of directors was motivated to develop a community-oriented charitable initiative that could be implemented by any member, wherever they are,” said CEO Andrew Kauffman. “Many of our members already work with local charities, and we want to help them enhance those relationships. We’re not mandating who they fund or what variety of cancer charity they work with, but we are sharing tools to build a great campaign.”
The setup is modeled on the successful campaign of member Talsma Furniture, which benefited the American Cancer Society in October 2023 and centered around the theme of “Kiss Cancer Goodbye.” The store’s owners were motivated to honor the memory of a family member who lost their battle with cancer. The campaign encouraged customers to visit one of the retail locations to sign a heart and take a selfie blowing a kiss on a lip-shaped settee.
Talsma donated $20 to the ACS for each signed heart. Customers who tagged Talsma in their Instagram posts and used #KissCancerGoodbye were entered to win a $500 Talsma gift card. The sofas were later auctioned off as an additional ACS fundraiser.
Talsma’s success is being used as a blueprint for the turnkey program that all Furniture First members can implement.
Furniture First developed several resources, including POP graphics, paint colors and logos, for members to run their own campaigns. Many have chosen to localize their charitable alliances with various cancer-related causes. Furniture First is coordinating the acquisition of lip-shaped settees for 13 member stores and is supporting campaigns with a website, KissingCancerGoodbye.com. Several members will be running their events in October, but a few have opted to run their campaigns in the first and third quarters of 2025.
“This new initiative uses our collective resources to help individual retailers partner with a community-focused good cause,” said Lark Shirley-Stevens, executive director of marketing and membership at Furniture First. “Our cooperative is about sharing great ideas with one another. We are sharing Talsma’s great idea and making it easy for our members to replicate.”
The display in the High Point showroom creates a festive atmosphere while supporting a serious cause. A backdrop calling out the hashtag for the campaign is surrounded by balloons and lip/kiss-themed décor and candy, all of which is intended to be an Instagram backdrop for customers visiting the store. For retailers interested in joining Furniture First and visiting the showroom during market, Furniture First has pledged to make a donation to a designated cancer charity if they complete a return on investment analysis.
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