Furniture First Previewed New Turn-key Charitable Initiative at PreMarket
Furniture World News Desk on
9/27/2024
Attendees of the recently concluded PreMarket who entered Furniture First’s showroom at
336 S. Main St. were greeted by a big smile, in the form of a pair of lips to sit on. The lip-shaped settee was part
of a vignette to promote a new turn-key charitable initiative called “Kissing Cancer Goodbye.”
The set-up is modeled on the successful campaign of member Talsma Furniture, benefitting the American Cancer Society
(ACS) in October 2023. It centered around the theme of "Kiss Cancer Goodbye" encouraging customers to visit one of
their 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. The
store’s owners were motivated to honor the memory of a family member who lost their battle with cancer.
Talsma's success is being used as a blueprint for the turn-key program that all Furniture First members can
implement. Members will have the freedom to build an alliance with a cancer-related charity in their local
community. 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, www.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 & 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 hash tag 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 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.
“Our Board of Directors was motivated to develop a community-oriented charitable initiative that could be
implemented by any member, wherever they are,” said 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.”
About Furniture First
Furniture First, a national cooperative buying group for independent retailers, is celebrating its 30th
anniversary this year. Furniture First serves full line independent retailers with sales over $2 million.
Collectively, the group sells $3 billion at retail. Furniture First will be open for PreMarket. For more information
on Furniture First Membership, please visit www.JoinFurnitureFirst.com or call 800-411-3477.
In 2023 Furniture First opened a four-story building at 336 South Main Street in High Point, Furniture First on Main.
The first two floors of the building are occupied by Furniture First with TD Retail Card Services and Knorr
Marketing on the third floor, and Vaughan Bassett on the fourth floor. While the Furniture First showroom is closed
to non-members, all retailers are invited to visit the Industry Service Center on the first floor where several
marketing and service partners have tables to meet with potential clients.