NANAIMO — A group of dedicated local women are looking to take your old jewelry off your hands and use it to help women in need.
The Nanaimo Women Helping Women (NWHW) group is holding their gold and silver jewelry collection fundraiser starting Monday, April 14 until May 5, with all money raised going towards their programs.
Founder Kerri Isham said last year they managed to raise $7,200 collecting people’s old, broken, or discarded jewelry, which provides the funds to help women who are in crisis take the next step.
“We can do a short-term hotel stay for them, we can offer them a storage locker, we offer gift cards to the Dollar Store, groceries, fast-food cards, Shoppers Drug Mart sometimes, whatever they need. We’ve paid for people’s medication, we’ve paid for people’s ferries so that they can get to a loved one. We give gas cards for women who are living in their vehicles.”
Since its inception in 2021, NWHW has managed to raise around $100,000 for women in need, according to Isham.
Items are then taken and sold at a local jewelry shop with a chartered accountant keeping track.
Isham said people have donated all kinds of items over the years, including gold teeth.
“We had silverware, broken jewelry, jewelry that was too small for someone, jewelry people no longer liked anymore. And also earrings, sometimes we lose one earring and we hope that we’re going to find the other one but it’s been sitting in our jewelry box for ten years, that can be donated as well.”
She said their list of clients continues to grow every year, from 65 women in 2021 to 74 the following year, and 120 in 2024.
Clients must be referred to the NWHW programs through a doctor, counsellor, or a number of local agencies, including the Haven Society, Island Crisis Care Society, and Vancouver Island University, helping students who were living in their vehicle find suitable accommodations.
Isham said they’re incredibly grateful for the community support which makes it possible to help women in need.
“We have people who donate monthly to us, anywhere from $10 to $25 a month as an auto-deposit. We have random donors that just send us money and say ‘use it for whatever you need.’ We wouldn’t be able to offer what we could offer without the support of the Nanaimo community.”
While the fundraiser starts on April 14, Isham said items can be dropped off between April 21 and May 5.
Donated jewelry can be dropped off at the Nanaimo Golf Course on April 27 during the next NWHW meeting from 3:30 until 5:00 p.m., or you can reach out to Isham through their website.
More information on the NWHW gold and silver fundraiser can be found here on their website nwhw.ca, or on their Facebook or Instagram pages.
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