Arletta Brinson, the daughter of a resident at A.G. Rhodes of Atlanta, was cleaning out her jewelry closet a few months ago and decided to get rid of some items.
“I thought that if I had not worn pieces in over a year that I needed to pass those pieces on to someone,” says Brinson.
The jewelry she gave away didn’t go to just anyone. She gave items to residents at A.G. Rhodes.
“I did the first round of distribution at the Valentine’s Day party,” says Brinson. ”The residents were so excited to receive their gently used gifts.”
She didn’t stop there. She started recruiting her friends, church family and sorority sisters to donate jewelry they no longer used, and named the project, Jewels for Jewels. Her friend and an A.G. Rhodes volunteer, Ricci DeForest of WERD Radio Live, also came on board and started announcing the project at all of his events.
“People were thrilled to participate,” says Brinson. “One friend had recently lost her mom. She said it was an honor to pass on some of her mother’s jewelry—her mother would be pleased.”
The February distribution was so successful that Brinson arranged another one for Mother’s Day, which was planned in conjunction with her own birthday party.
“Because the response from donors was so great, I knew that the next distribution had to be really organized,” says Brinson. “I always bring my birthday party to my mom so I decided to extend it to the residents and distribute the jewels for Mother’s Day.”
Brinson’s mother was also involved in the project.
“She was excited to have her room as the prep area and to see how grateful her friends were to receive the jewels,” Brinson says. “She is a giver and was happy to be part of the project.”
There was a room full of jewelry that residents got to choose from, and the party was a huge success.
“This was one of my best birthdays ever,” says Brinson.
Brinson is planning to have another Jewels for Jewels distribution in the upcoming months.