At the height of the holiday season, a Wantage, N.J., jeweler
is finding time to give back to the community. D’Andrea’s Jewelers launched a
fundraiser to benefit the local food bank Dec. 1.

Owner Andrea Randolph tells JCK that she collected Christmas
ornaments throughout the year and is now selling a variety of them in the
store, with 50 percent of the proceeds going to the Sussex County Interfaith
Hospitality Network.

“The customers are loving it,” Randolph says. “They are
making other donations and that’s nice to see.” 

Randolph says with the recession, D’Andrea’s has had a lot
of customers interested in selling their gold. “They’re scraping their most
cherished items just to pay for food or to pay for mortgages.”

The decision to
donate to Sussex County Interfaith Hospitality Network was not a hard one, she says.
“It’s very nice, especially in the economy and the business. We grew up in the
area and it’s nice to see people come out and support our business. That’s why
I try to do so much for the community.” While this is the first holiday fundraiser held by the
jeweler, Randolph says the staff is very involved in the community. On
Thanksgiving, the staff helped feed five families and intends on feeding 10 for
Christmas.

D’Andreas’s celebrates a year of business Dec. 10 and
Randolph says she will continue the tradition of fundraising for local causes.
“We will definitely do this next year, maybe with the senior citizens.”

D’Andrea’s is also accepting direct donations for the
organization, in addition to accepting donations for Toys for Tots.

JCK