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Salvation Army Kettles Get More Expensive Jewelry Donations

BOSTON (CBS) -- With the holiday season in full swing, The Salvation Army continues to see an uptick in jewelry donations in Massachusetts.

The most recent donations were made to the Salvation Army's red kettles in Raynham and Middleton.

A .52-carat diamond pendant with a solid gold chain and a handwritten note attached to it was left at a kettle outside the Market Basket on Broadway in Raynham on Wednesday.

Raynham Pendant Salvation Army Donation
A pendant was donated to a Salvation Army red kettle in Middleton on Wednesday. (Image credit: The Salvation Army)

"Please auction this off in memory of my Aunt Doris, whom your program helped many many many years ago," read the note. "God bless all. Jesus is the reason for the season."

Raynham Jewel Note Salvation Army
A note was left with a jewelry donation made to a Salvation Army red kettle in Raynham. (Image credit: The Salvation Army)

The pendant is worth an estimated $3,800, and money raised from the donation will help the Salvation Army's work in the Taunton area, according to the organization.

On Tuesday, a set of wedding rings were dropped off at a kettle outside the Market Basket on South Main Street in Middleton. Organizers say that donation will benefit the Lawrence Salvation Army Corps Community Center.

The Salvation Army has received at least 11 different types of jewelry this season, with the first donation being a diamond engagement ring and a wedding band left at a kettle near the Market Basket in Billerica on Nov. 30.

The trend of making jewelry donations began after an anonymous widow put her diamond engagement and wedding rings in a kettle at North Station last year.

The Salvation Army is more than $1.5 million away from meeting their $3.4 million statewide fundraising goal, organizers say. Their fundraising efforts will end on Christmas Eve.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports

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