A dozen jewelers from Richmond, Va., raffled off jewels and
raised $14,500 for the VCU Massey Cancer Center during the 16th Annual Women
& Wellness event Feb. 8.

The Jewels for a Cure drawing featured 12 pieces including
diamond earrings, a TAG Heuer watch, and a cultured pearl necklace with
matching stud earrings. Tickets were sold for $25 at participating jewelers’
locations and at the Women & Wellness event at the Jefferson Hotel.

Jeweler and raffle chair Cheryl Fornash tells JCK that the
raffle has always included an expensive piece of jewelry and a lease for a
Mercedes-Benz, but the jewelry has always been the most popular item.

Fornash wanted to bring together the entire Richmond jewelry
community, so she recruited 11 other jewelers to donate jewelry retailing for
$1,500. “When I began calling on the jewelers, I was impressed by their level
of enthusiasm and desire to support VCU Massey Cancer Center,” she says.
“Everyone she approached committed to the raffle. “It has been very inspiring
to me to see how all the jewelers have enthusiastically supported Jewels for a Cure.”

The Women & Wellness event focuses on women’s health
issues—specifically cancer—and features high-profile cancer survivors as
speakers. The event raised $150,000 (including raffle sales) for Virginia
Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center.

“We are in a competitive business,” says Fornash, “but in
our efforts to support Women & Wellness, we have proven that there is no
competition when it comes to supporting research for women’s cancers and
supporting the VCU Massey Cancer Center.”

JCK