Helping battle cancer could get you a diamond
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on April 25, 2005 1:45 PM
To help the American Cancer Society raise even more money this year, Barnes Jewelers Inc. has donated a $10,000 diamond to the annual Relay for Life.
Tickets will be sold for a chance to win the one carat diamond, and the winner will be drawn at the Relay for Life May 13 at 11 p.m. Tickets are $10 each or three for $25, said Debbie Pennell, board chairman of the Wayne County Unit of the American Cancer Society.
Relay for Life teams are selling the tickets.
Stephen Barnes, manager of Barnes Jewelers Inc., said the business is doing this in memory of his grandfather, Doyce "Gaines" Barnes Sr., who died of cancer 10 years ago.
"We felt like instead of just giving a donation to the Relay, this would be a way to raise a lot of money," he said. "We hope to raise between $25,000 and $50,000 with the diamond. Hopefully, by donating the diamond to the Relay, this will benefit everybody."
Barnes said his grandfather was well-known throughout Wayne County for his passion for sports, but it is his strength and courage his family and friends remember most.
"Most of all, we the family remember his as a loving and caring husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather," he said. "We simply knew him as Pops. He loved his flowers, fishing, playing ball and working in his wood shop.
"Even as he struggled to fight cancer, his spirit could not be broken. This true man of integrity lives on today in the hearts and lives of those who knew him."
Barnes Jewelers also donated the diamond as a way to celebrate the business's 25th anniversary.
The winner does not have to be present at the drawing, Ms. Pennell said. But if the lucky ticketholder is present, he or she will be recognized on stage and presented the diamond.
Also, the team selling the most tickets for the diamond will receive a free catered meal compliments of The Country Skillet.
The 16th annual Relay for Life will be held May 13 and 14 at Wayne Community College. This year's goal is $500,000.