TAMARAC, Fla. — For leaders at Top 100 retailer City Furniture, breast cancer awareness and research is personal.
To that end, the Tamarac, Fla.-based retailer is in the midst of its annual Pink Pumpkins campaign with a goal of raising $750,000 for the American Cancer Society. Through the end of October, visitors to any City Furniture or one of City’s Ashley stores can receive a complimentary pink pumpkin bucket for family trick-or-treating or Halloween home décor. City’s goal? To paint Florida’s communities pink with Pink Pumpkins as a powerful tribute to survivors and loved ones touched by breast cancer.
Andrew Koenig, City’s CEO, said the idea came from his mother, Doreen, who died after a battle with breast cancer in 2015.
“In the last couple of weeks of her life, she said to buy 15,000 pink buckets and give them away for Halloween,” Koenig told Furniture Today. “She said, ‘I want to make sure we’re spreading the word.’ Halloween is a really important family day. It’s a good day to raise awareness for the American Cancer Society.”
The campaign is in its fourth year and has raised $1.2 million to date to help the American Cancer Society. This year, City Furniture hopes to give away 45,000 pink pumpkin buckets and will donate $25 per customer who participates in its Test Rest program this month. When individuals visit a City Furniture showroom and complete a mattress test rest, they will receive a $25 gift card and will trigger the donation, courtesy of the retailer’s 5% Giving Pledge.
“Every customer that walks in our store, if they give us 10 minutes of their time to test a mattress, we’ll donate $25 to the American Cancer Society on their behalf,” Koenig said.
Koenig said the cause is one that’s near to everybody at City Furniture, and he’s been pleased by community participation in past years. He said giving back is something that more companies should do.
“On the business side, I would recommend all organizations find that cause that’s meaningful to your business, create a campaign around it and do some good,” he said. “My mom was always trying to sell some sofas, too, so I think she’s happy to see the brand awareness out of it.
“It’s a win-win-win; it makes the community feel good, the customers feel good and it’s the right thing for business.”