Wow, what a year 2023 was! 

Over the course of the 12 months, we had the immense pleasure of working with 18 different local charity and community organisations and delivered 21 community initiatives.

Each of these projects was designed to assist in promoting the work of these wonderful organisations, providing a donation point for generous people to drop off items needed for the benefit of others, and raising funds for specific causes.

Take a look below at how 2023 shaped up in our “little Centre with a big heart”.

And, as we embrace 2024, we are more than happy to consider even more collaborations with local charities and community groups that are making their mark in Dunedin and Otago. Why not give us a call to arrange a chat. 

Our 2023 wrap up started in March….

2023 Otago Museum Wildlife Photography Competition

A photo exhibition was installed in the Golden Centre to pre-promote one of the elements of Wild Dunedin’s Festival of Nature.

This highlighted some of the works by local wildlife photographers and introduced the ways in which people could enter the 2023 wildlife photography competition.

April celebrated arts and culture and a commemoration of ANZAC Day

Jersey Boys Theatre Show

Throughout April and until 13 May, the Golden Centre helped Musical Theatre Dunedin to bring the Jersey Boys show to life through branding, a pre-opening night reception in-centre, a competition for shoppers to win tickets and school holiday activities.

Appearance by Author, Kath Irvine

During Wild Dunedin’s Festival of Nature, we welcomed Kath Irvine, author of The Edible Backyard to the meet shoppers and sign books.

Tributes on ANZAC Day

A Lone Soldier took pride of place in Centre Court from 21-26 April. A book of commemoration was also displayed for people to write messages of thanks and remembrance. Nearly 100 messages were recorded in the book over a period of just 5 days. All of these were transcribed and sent to the Dunedin RSA for distribution to their members.

May introduced visions of the past

Old Photos of Dunedin Exhibition

Collaboration with Totally Georgeous took the form of a photo exhibition that highlighted Dunedin streetscapes and everyday life spanning 1919 - 2000.

The Cancer Society of Otago and Southland – You Can for Cancer

Presence on the Golden Centre’s digital screens helped spread the word about how people could put their own mark on fundraising for cancer support in Dunedin.

June saw the birth of the 500 tiny teddies for 500 tiny babies

Southern Cosplay Appearances to Raise Funds for the SPCA

The Team from Southern Cosplay greeted shoppers and posed for selfies in return for donations on Saturday 10 June. During their appearance they raised $389 for the SPCA.

Octacan Collection Hub

From the 8-21 June, Centre Court in the Golden Centre became a collection hub for Family Works Foodbank winter can appeal. During this time, 189 food products were kindly donated by shoppers and our retail community.

500 Tiny Teddies for 500 Tiny Babies – Campaign Launch

Over 500 babies receive care in Dunedin’s NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) each year and The Little Miracles Trust supports parents through this overwhelming time.

In an aim to add even more cheer when the little ones leave hospital, the Golden Centre launched a campaign to invite retail staff members and shoppers alike to make tiny teddies for the tiny babies.

July was about ‘The Beautiful Game’

Go Orange for the Day!

On 1 July, the Golden Centre collaborated with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands  to promote a ‘Go Orange for a Day’ campaign, ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

During the afternoon, shoppers and our retail community benefitted from posing for photos with the official Dutch mascot – Kicky, having their faces painted, collecting a free balloon and leaving a message in a Well Wishes book that was presented to the team.

Backyard Diversity

A visual and interactive exhibition for all ages was hosted in Centre Court so families could take part in activities themed around native flora and fauna. This initiative was presented by Landcare Research. Over 1,000 people visited this activation.

FIFA Women’s World Cup Activations

The Golden Centre was immensely proud to celebrate the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the football matches played in Dunedin.

A huge football sculpture made from balloons became a focal point in Centre Court. Face painting was available to visitors for two hours prior to each match and shoppers could place a free flag on a glass panel to show their support for a team playing that day.

August saw a brightly colour digger take to George Street

Tiny Teddies & Family Fun Weekend

The 500 Tiny Teddies Project concluded on the 11 August 2023. Such was the success, a whopping 535 teddies were made by kind-hearted individuals, as well of groups of ladies who collectively wanted to make a difference. Teddies came from the length and breadth of Otago and even as far afield as Cromwell.

Before heading off to their new homes, the teddies became the stars of a Family Fun Weekend in-centre. Over the course of these two days children were invited to enjoy a teddy bears picnic, have their faces painted, listen to stories by local author, Julie Fawcett and get arty with interactive artist Luke Easterbrooke-Clarke.

Design a Digger Competition

A Design a Digger Competition was delivered in collaboration with the Totally Georgeous Project. Judging the significant number of submissions was extremely tough, but the brightly coloured winning design was seen on a daily basis outside the Golden Centre as workers set to upgrading our street scape.

'Rub-a-dub-dub, Help Us Fill The Tub'

Between 14 August and 4 September, the Golden Centre, in partnership with The Nest Collective Ōtepoti Dunedin, hosted a 'Rub-a-dub-dub, Help Us Fill The Tub' fundraiser. Our mission was to invite Golden Centre shoppers to donate essential items for local babies in need and their families.

Over the course of just 21 days, 141 items were lovingly placed in our collection hub in Centre Court to give babies a thriving start in life.

Daffodil Day

It was our pleasure to welcome fantastic volunteers from The Cancer Society of Otago and Southland. During the course of two days, multiple bunches of brightly coloured daffodils were sold as part of their iconic annual fundraiser.

November helped some little miracles to thrive

The Little Miracles Trust Annual Fundraising Appeal

The Golden Centre hosted The Little Miracles Trust’s incubator in Centre Court again from 14 – 16 November 2023. Over the course of three days $664.90 was raised to assist in providing vital equipment and funding for NICUs & SCBUs, together with groundbreaking neonatal research.

December delivered festive cheer

Shoebox Success!

A 2023 Catalytic Community Needs Survey identified that a minimum of 4,021 households across Aotearoa were unable to provide Christmas presents for their children. With an average of 2.7 children per household, this equates to over 10,000 youngsters who may not have experienced the joy of opening a gift on Christmas Day.

Thanks to the generosity of kindhearted shoppers and one for one gift matching by us, 234 local children received a present from Santa. From books, art/craft supplies and soft toys to games, clothing and personal care products, all of these wonderful items will be treasured.

Christmas Gift Wrapping

Between 11am-5pm from 13-24 December, shoppers who purchased gifts in the Golden Centre were invited to visit the gift-wrapping hub in Centre Court and have their gifts wrapped for FREE.

To celebrate this time of giving, the Golden Centre also presented a special disc to each person who had a gift wrapped. They could then place this in one of six local charity boxes of their choice at the gift-wrapping hub and the selected charity received a $1 in cash.

We are incredibly proud to announce that a total $3,718 was raised for the following organisations: The Little Miracles Trust | The Cancer Society of New Zealand | Dog Rescue Dunedin |Dunedin Cat Rescue | The Nest Collective | Ōtepoti-Dunedin Whānau Refuge.

Carols in the Mall

In the lead up to Christmas we were blessed by the incredible voices of choristers from the Knox Church children’s choir, adults’ choir and members of the SHE Choir.

Selfies with Comet

On 23 December shoppers were delighted by the chance to grab a selfie with ‘Comet,’ the handsome Samoyed, in return for a gold coin donation. Thanks to Comet’s photogenic qualities and his wonderful nature, $360 was raised for the pups from Dog Rescue Dunedin. 

We hope you enjoyed reading about the Golden Centre’s community project adventures in 2023 and are looking forward to seeing what’s in-centre for 2024.