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Denver based 'Gold Minds' Project to Recycle Jewelry May 17th
Denver, CO; April 30. -- Young readers in Denver will soon benefit from the soaring price of gold. The Great Books Foundation is working in concert with eco jeweler greenKarat to turn used and broken jewelry into funding for new reading groups for students.
The Gold Minds fundraising program kicks off with a celebration at Denver’s Irish Snug pub on May 17th, noon to 4PM. Interested donors may drop off unwanted and broken jewelry that day, or contribute any time online (www.goldforbooks.org).
A single donation of a few broken chains and old class rings could fund a 20 week reading program for ten students. “It’s a great idea for a fundraiser” said greenKarat president Matthew White. “The program simply asks for a donation of jewelry which is broken or no longer used. That’s a painless way to give to a good cause.”
Proceeds of the Gold Minds project will be distributed to schools that apply to start new Junior Great Books groups. Donations are tax deductible.
Junior Great Books is an acclaimed reading and discussion program for students in kindergarten through high school. First introduced in 1960, Junior Great Books is now used by more than one million students in all 50 states and in countries around the world. “We are delighted at the initiative shown by Gold Minds and greenKarat in creating this opportunity,” says Steven Craig, Vice President for Alliances at the Great Books Foundation. “Gold Minds has the potential to help improve the reading and critical thinking skills of hundreds of young students.”
greenKarat is a web based ecologically responsible jeweler specializing in jewelry made with post-consumer recycled gold. Use of post-consumer recycled gold reduces demand for environmentally destructive gold mining.
Information on making the tax deductible donations of jewelry is available from the Great Books Foundation, greenKarat, or the Gold Minds project.
Denver Colorado March 27, 2008 -- Denverites are coming together to recycle old jewelry in order to expand young minds with a project called Gold Minds.
It's a different kind of jewelry party. May 17, 2008 from 12:00 - 4:00 pm at The Irish Snug, 1201 E Colfax Ave #100 Denver 80218.
Instead of a home jewelry party where people are expected to buy new things, guests are asked to clean out their jewelry boxes of broken chains, old class rings, lonely earrings... any jewelry that is no longer used and bring it to the party. The jewelry will be sent to greenKarat, an ecologically responsible jewelry company that will recycle the metals into new jewelry. GreenKarat will send 80% of the current market value of the metals to a fund to start children's book clubs though the Junior Great Books program.
Junior Great Books is a program of the Great Books Foundation, a non-profit, educational organization with a mission to help people think and share ideas by reading and discussing great literature. The Junior Great Books program is proven to help students develop essential literacy skills -- reading carefully, thinking critically, listening intently, and speaking and writing persuasively. By participating in Shared Inquiry, a distinctive method of discussion created by the Foundation, students learn to read for meaning and to support their own interpretation of the text.
A special account at the Great Books Foundation has been established for the Gold Minds project. The Gold Minds fund will be used to sponsor leader training and books and materials for students in new Junior Great Books groups in Denver and around the country.
Hope Barrone, founder of the project said, "Junior Great Books made a difference in my education. I not only learned to love stories but how to think critically, form options, and constructively argue my point.
"If my mother and her friends had not been willing to give their time, money and efforts, the children in my school would not have had the gift of this program. Nearly thirty years later, out of the box programs like Junior Great Books are still sorely needed in our schools. I created this project to make a difference in our schools and to honor my mother and all the others who made Junior Great Books happen for me."
Many of us have old jewelry we no longer wear, that is broken or otherwise no longer useful. It tends to collect in our jewelry boxes because we don't want to throw it away. The mining of metals and gems for the jewelry industry creates problems for the environment. Why not use old jewelry to help the environment and kids at the same time?
The party will include a silent auction of items donated by local businesses and organizations to support Gold Minds. Guests will be asked to make a $10 donation directly to the Gold Minds fund at the Great Books Foundation.