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Charms for Charity Unites an Art Community to Raise Funds for Cancer

In July 2008, an extraordinary group of artists came together recently to raise more than $12,000 for cancer research.

For months, talented Precious Metal Clay (PMC) and Art Clay artists from all over the country have been making charms and crafting charm bracelets. Hundreds of designers donated their time, energy and materials to create charms from Metal Clay, a new way of working with silver and gold. It is a moldable metal that transforms from a clay-like state into pure sculpted precious metal jewelry with the heat of a torch or kiln.

These dedicated artists not only made charms and bracelets, they also hit the streets, selling raffle tickets to family, friends, customers and strangers. The over 500 charms were then attached to 33 handcrafted bracelets, which became the winning prizes for a drawing held on July 20 during the PMC Conference 2008 at Purdue University.

In all, the Metal Clay community raised $12,270 to fight cancer. Of that, $6,917.50 was donated to the American Cancer Society and $5,352.50 was given to The Marrow Foundation.

The drawing was conceived as a memorial to honor Robin Whittemore, a talented jewelry artist and active member of the Metal Clay community, who lost her courageous battle with cancer last summer.

Robin inspired the group with her uplifting spirit and love of life. Sadly, she died during the summer of 2007, leaving a legacy of courage and charity among her friends and colleagues.

To honor Robin and the countless other victims of cancer, the Metal Clay community donated every aspect of the project, from making charms and bracelets to designing and selling the drawing tickets and donating Web site space and credit card fees. There were no administrative fees so every dollar raised went directly to cancer prevention and treatment.

Several of the bracelet winners were cancer survivors and many of those who purchased tickets were the friends and relatives of cancer victims. During the conference, Sarah Triton spoke many heartfelt words about Robin Whittemore and The Marrow Foundation representative had tears in her eyes as she accepted the sizeable donation.

The Metal Clay community would like to offer our sincere gratitude to all those who donated to the project and to all those who purchased tickets for this unique community fund raising event.