Charm Bracelets Raffled for Charity at 2008 PMC Conference

Published: August 25, 2008

Carol Hamilton safeguards a briefcase full of charm bracelets from potential threat. Hamilton helped Holly Gage organize the charity raffle of the charm bracelets at the 2008 PMC Conference, collecting all the funds for the fundraiser, mailing charm bracelets to winners who didn't attend the raffle, and more.

One of 33 bracelets created by the members of the online Yahoo forum The Metal Clay Gallery.

Members of the online Yahoo forum The Metal Clay Gallery raised over $12,000 for the American Cancer Society and the Marrow Foundation by raffling handmade charm bracelets at the 2008 PMC Conference, held in West Lafayette, Ind., in July.

Exchanging handmade charms with fellow attendees is a tradition at the biennial PMC Conference, but this was the first year for the raffle. Before this year's conference, Holly Gage suggested to fellow Metal Clay Gallery forum members that they should each make two charms for the conference, one to exchange and one to use in a bracelet that they could raffle to raise money for a good cause.

Gage expected people to be interested, but she was surprised when she started getting about 100 e-mails a day about the raffle. Members of the forum volunteered to do all the administrative work, like making raffle tickets, doing public relations, collecting money, distributing the bracelets after the raffle, etc.

The group decided to donate any money they raised to the American Cancer Society and the Marrow Foundation in honor of a forum member who worked with the Marrow Foundation to help fellow cancer patients find matches, but who died because she was unable to find a match for herself.

Gage received 500 charms; some arrived with personal notes saying they were made in honor of someone. Forum members also donated handmade chains, some of which were intricate chain mail, for the charms. In all, the group's efforts yielded 33 bracelets.

The raffle was held during the PMC Conference (Gage notes that members of The Metal Clay Gallery work with both PMC and Art Clay). Gage says that the raffle was emotional, because several people who won bracelets were cancer survivors or had family members who were. Gage will help organize the fundraiser again for the 2010 PMC Conference, with planning to begin in late 2009. If you're interested in being involved in the 2010 raffle, Gage suggests keeping an eye on the PMC Conference Web site, www.pmc-conference.com, for details, or contacting her through her Web site, www.hollygage.com. --Kristin Sutter