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JA, DCA Reopen Jewelers Relief Fund
The industry-wide fund aims to raise $25,000 to help jewelers whose stores have been damaged or looted.
The Jewelers Relief Fund is accepting donations via its GoFundMe page to support independent jewelers.
New York—Jewelers of America and Diamond Council of America are reopening the Jewelers Relief Fund.
The trade organizations have set up a GoFundMe page to help jewelers whose stores have been damaged or looted due to acts of violence perpetrated during the largely peaceful protests over the death of George Floyd.
Organizers are calling for the jewelry community to band together to help fellow jewelers facing a crisis.
“We believe that by coming together, we can maximize the industry's resources to support our own in their greatest times of need,” said JA President and CEO David J. Bonaparte in an email to its members.
Jewelers can provide details on their situations and request help via an online form.
The funds will go to Diamond Council of America, a 501(c)(3) charity, and then be distributed directly to independent jewelers in the United States and its territories.
Donations totaled over $11,000 as of Friday morning.
“Just as jewelry stores have been reopening due to the quarantines caused by COVID-19, many have been dealt another blow and are now dealing with terrible destruction from break-ins and looting,” Bonaparte said.
“We know the industry can ban together to help pick up the broken pieces of our brethren and provide much needed financial relief during these troubling times.”
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