Gold Friday 2023

Pukekohe Businesses Give Back instead of Black Friday Sales

On Tuesday 12 December, representatives from 14 businesses met with the Pukekohe Salvation Army at the Pukekohe Business Association to present them with a joint donation for their Christmas initiatives.

The businesses all pledged to donate a percentage of sales from Friday 24 November, to assist with the huge demand the Salvation Army’s foodbank has over the Christmas period.

Friday 24 November is typically known for huge sales named Black Friday. This year, Pukekohe businesses banded together in a Gold Friday campaign to raise $2443.85 for the Salvation Army.

Gold Friday is a one-day campaign that was created by a Christchurch business owner, Gerry Shackleton last year. Instead of participating in the consumer culture that slashes margins and profits, businesses pledge a percentage of their sales on the Friday to a charity.

Greg Hick, the owner and operator of Preview + District introduced Gold Friday to his store this year to combat the pressure of heavily discounting stock.

The Pukekohe Business Association encouraged other members of the local business community to join in for a good cause. It was great to see businesses pooling their efforts together to give back to the community over Christmas.

Fourteen Pukekohe Businesses banded together to donate the funds raised to the local Salvation Army on Tobin Street; Artisan Boutique, Columbus Coffee Inside Mitre 10 Mega, Computer Food, Custom Threadz, Cutting Edge Plastic Surgery, First National Real Estate Empower, Halliwell Shoes, Lewis for Fashion, Pukekohe Flower & Gift Shoppe, Preview & District, Represent Boutique, Urban Market, Way of Life Health Shop and Yakety Yak.

Each business donated a percentage of their sales or a fixed amount which totaled $2443,85.

Corps Officer from The Salvation Army Pukekohe, Rebecca Moffat, said this will make a significant difference to them over Christmas.

The demand for Pukekohe Salvation Army’s foodbank is ‘through the roof’. They are experiencing a 250% increase in uptake from last year and expect this to continue to rise closer to Christmas.

The donation will go towards their regular foodbank and the 70 food and gift hampers they give away each December.

“We’re thrilled this will go directly to Pukekohe families to get food on the table,” says Moffat.

The Pukekohe Business Association plan to repeat the campaign next year.

We’d love to grow Gold Friday so that our local businesses can continue to support more local charitable projects in the future. Keep an eye out in 2024 for more opportunities to get involved.