Car yard scraps birthday bash in aid of charities

Instead of throwing a 100th birthday bash, a Christchurch car yard will donate $100,000 to charity. Archibalds Motors has shortlisted 10 charities and wants the public to vote for which three should get a share of the money. It has called the campaign Drive for Good. Chief executive John Fairhall said a staff member came up with the donation idea, and others agreed it was the right thing to do. Plus they still had their usual Christmas party, he said. ‘‘Turning 100 is really the first major milestone that we’ve celebrated in a significant way,’’ he said. Voting runs for three months from today with the winning charities to be named in March. The charity with the most votes will get $50,000 and the other two will get $25,000 each.