The Daily Citizen, Dalton, GA

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Related Photos

  • David Finley of Maryville Jewelers looks at a ring on Monday that was donated to the Salvation Army just before Christmas. (Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen)

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  • Maj. Henry Hunter, with the Salvation Army, shows a ring that was donated during the Salvation Army's kettle drive just before Christmas. (Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen)

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  • The ring and the note that came with it. (Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen)

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February 8, 2011

'All for Jesus'

Couple donates wedding ring to benefit Salvation Army

Jamie Jones jamiejones@daltoncitizen.com

Donations to the Salvation Army’s annual Red Kettle campaign are usually pocket change, bills and checks.

But the Dalton branch of the nonprofit received an unexpected item during its drive last December: a diamond wedding ring.

The ring wasn’t from a jilted spouse or crumbling relationship. It was from a happily married couple “still deeply in love.”

Salvation Army officials are selling the ring, which was donated by an anonymous couple, at Maryville Jewelers in downtown Dalton. Employees will take sealed bids for the next 30 days, then the ring will be sold to the highest bidder. The money will support the Salvation’s Army social services, including its food bank and utility bill assistance and transitional housing programs.

On Dec. 22, the couple approached bell ringers at the Kroger grocery store in Calhoun. They had the ring and a Christmas card. On the back of the card was a handwritten note: “My husband and I are still deeply in love. We think you could make better use of this ring than we can. ‘All for Jesus.’”

Below the note was the words of the Bible verse John 1:14.

Salvation Army officials said the story is unique. They’ve heard of people anonymously placing thousands of dollars in the red kettles but this is a first for the Dalton area.

“The couple that donated it, they donated it anonymously, but they put a little note that said our marriage is good basically and that way we thought you could get better use out of it,”  said Pat Thompson, the office manager at the Salvation Army.

Maj. Henry Hunter said the agency has seen an increase in the number of people seeking help. This year, the organization will provide help with rent, mortgage and utility assistance for more than 200 families and provide more than 3,000 food boxes to residents in Whitfield and Murray counties.

Hunter provided an illustration of that need. Just last Sunday there was a family lined up outside of the Salvation Army office on Thornton Avenue at 5:30 a.m. Hunter invited them inside to warm up and leave the bitter cold, but they declined. They wanted to be first in line for assistance.

“That’s desperate,” Hunter said.

David Finley, co-owner of Maryville Jewelers, plans to display the ring near the front of the store. The stone is .72 carats; the shape/cut is Marquise Brilliant; the clarity is S/1; and the color is E.

Maryville Jewelers is at 108 N. Hamilton St.

For information, call the store at (706) 278-1030 or the Salvation Army at (706) 278-3966.

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