(NEW YORK) – Jewelers for Children held the 4th annual Rings of Strength Tour on Thursday, June 2, at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. More than 160 participants assembled at 5:30 a.m. to either walk or run 5K, or bike one of two courses, a leisurely 15K route or a challenging 50K route. An option for yoga was also available. Participants who signed up built their own fundraising websites and collected more than $50,000 to support Jewelers for Children.
“It’s truly overwhelming to see so many willing, happy folks turn out at 5:30 a.m. to help support the JFC mission!” said Debra Puzio, JFC’s Vice President for Special Programs. “Every year we welcome new people and new companies to this fabulous event and with the success of this year’s event, we have surpassed $225,000 in fundraising for JFC!”
The event attracted individuals as well as teams of industry supporters. Teams were organized by Quality Gold, Blue Nile, HL Manufacturing, Women’s Jewelry Association, Stuller, Starluxe, JCK, Signet Jewelers, Canada, Bahama Gem, Assurant, Ben Bridge Jeweler, Vicenzaoro, Dean’s Jewelry, BIG, Radiance JD, JCK-JIS-Luxury, Greens Jewelry, BASCH, Nishi Pearls and Bailey, Banks & Biddle.
Sponsors for the event included:, JCK Events, JIS Exchange, Blue Nile, Brinks, Assurant, Rio Tinto Diamonds, Freeman Expo Service, Cmac Transportation and Ashi Diamonds.
Jewelers for Children was founded in 1999 by the U.S. jewelry industry with the mission of helping children in need. Since its inception, JFC has donated more than $51 million to programs benefiting children whose lives have been affected by illness, abuse, or neglect through charity partners St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, Make-A-Wish® America, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the National CASA Association. JFC also provides support to Make-A-Wish® International, and the Santa-America Fund. This nationwide success is due to the continuing generosity of jewelry trade organizations, jewelry and watch manufacturing companies, jewelry retail stores, individual jewelry professionals, and jewelry consumers.
To learn more visit www.jewelersforchildren.org.
