Thursday, October 29, 2009

jewelry anyone?

My first friend when I moved to CA was Chelsey. We've known each other for 11 years. She has two girls the exact same age as mine, 3 and 5. One year ago she added 4 other girls to the mix who are now 2, 6, 12 and 14 years old. The oldest girl called CPS on her parents after years of neglect and verbal abuse. I won't go into the details. The 4 girls happen to be Chelsey's brother-in-laws girls--how could she turn them over to the foster care system? She didn't. But because they are family, the state only pays them a portion of what they would normally get. It's hard enough in the Bay Area to raise 2 kids on a single income, let alone 6 kids. Last year I had some wonderful friends who helped me put together 21 meals that we brought to her to put in her freezer. She was so grateful.

Chelsey and her husband, Jerome, are continuing to go into debt a little more each month. And the parents of the girls aren't helping out. They've recently been told they will have the girls at least another 6 months and to have in the back of their minds that they may be asked to adopt them all. Chelsey and Jerome have risen to the challenge and have given these girls a true home.

Now to get to the title of my post. Chelsey decided that she has to somehow contribute to the family income. A friend introduced her to Primier Designs jewelry. It was started by a Christian couple in 1985 so that they could support missionaries around the world. Chelsey makes 50% of whatever she sells--a great benefit for her! I'd never heard of them before, but looked through the catalog and was very impressed--they have something for every style. Since she doesn't live nearby, I told her I would host a catalog party for her. If she does 9 shows within the next month she will get a big bonus which will really help her family out. I'm not a huge jewelry person myself--but maybe I will be after I buy a few things! I thought I would throw it out there for anyone who might like to support a good cause. If you are local and are interested, let me know and I will get you the catalog--they don't have one online. Thanks friends!


Chelsey's kids are the two on the left. The other four are her nieces.

1 comment:

Tammy Fielder said...

I used to know someone who sold that jewelry! I don't know why they aren't more known around here... their stuff is way nicer than Cookie Lee and is so reasonable! I am also not much of a jewelry wearer... I typically gravitate towards simple artisan-type silver jewelry (like from Berkeley or art fairs) and end up wearing the same thing every day. I remember this company had some nice simple silver pieces that I would totally wear. I would like to see a catalog and help out your friend!