Thought you might find this interesting. Let me know if you'd like to hold a gold party!.
Charity cashing in on gold prices Last Updated: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 | 1:53 PM ET CBC News
Dozens of City of Ottawa employees brought handfuls of their old and broken gold jewelry to work Wednesday to raise money for the Christmas Exchange (CBC) As the price of gold soars, food and clothing drives are being joined by a new kind of charity fundraiser gold drives. Dozens of City of Ottawa employees brought handfuls of their old and broken gold jewelry to work Wednesday to raise money for the Christmas Exchange, a local charity that provides food to the less fortunate during the holiday season. The event was co-ordinated by a company that buys jewelry containing precious metals from the public and arranges for the metals to be recycled. The company, was on hand at the municipal offices on Constellation Drive with scales and other equipment to help appraise the value of the gold, based on its weight and carat quality. On Wednesday, the market price of gold was around $1,095 US an ounce. That's more than double the price per ounce five years ago $434 US. "We calculate how much the value of this is, we make an offer to the customer. If they accept it, a portion of that offer goes to the Christmas Exchange." The customer gets to keep the rest of the money. The company also donates to the charity, making for a worth while fundraiser. Sue Carpenter got her old accessories weighed and found out they are worth $600. She donated 10 per cent to the Christmas Exchange and got a cheque for the rest. "Great idea to recycle what you don't use and it makes a good donation to worthy cause," she said. She said she knows Christmas is still months away, but her group wants to get a jump on fundraising so it doesn't face a crunch at the end of the year. "We do get our list of people who need our help, we want to make sure we have the funds available to help them," Leung said. The Christmas Exchange says it helped 25,000 people last year.
