Pearls for Precious Angels brings Joy

The Pearls for Precious Angels fundraiser held at the Mint Bar was a joyful event.

The fundraiser was to raise enough money to supply both Glasgow and Havre Hospitals with a Cuddle Cot.

A Cuddle Cot is a cooling system that preserves stillborn babies (and older children) while their parents grieve.

On Saturday, October 21 there were several pearl seekers, three chances to win on boards and delicious hors d’oeuvres to sample.

A fine tuned system was in place with Mary Waters taking money and orders from participants.

Each paid $30 for a choice of a colorful jewelry bag, a silver bracelet or necklace, a silver pendant to hold the pearl (available in several shapes and sizes), and finally an oyster.

Along with these decisions for an extra $5 each a birthstone or positive saying charm such as “inspire” could be added.

Into the jewelry bag all these items went and onto a box beside Susan Green who started cracking the oysters open before 7 p.m. and further into the night after 10:30 p.m. (when this reporter headed home).

At that time there were over fifty five baubles purchased and many cash donations made on top of the boards which hadn’t been tallied yet.

Many onlookers were transfixed on the oysters as each held another beautiful and colorful surprise. Oohs and awes were expressed by the women and men alike.

The tones ranged from; deep chocolate to wine, pastels in green, blue, pink, peach and yellow, to gold, silver and bronze and even a few white pearls.

Once the pearl was extracted from the oyster Green dried it in salt and wiped it off with a towel and passed it on to be captured in the pendent cage.

“My helper was a friend, Jill Hould. Hould is the wonderful lady in charge of a nonprofit organization called Held Your Whole Life which supports families whose babies never took a breath on this earth, and gifts custom jewelry to parents whose babies were lost to miscarriage or stillbirth,” Green emailed the Phillips County News.

Green also reported on Tuesday, October 24th that enough money was raised to purchase one Cuddle Cot.

Green wrote, “And yes...we made enough! I have finally stopped my continuous tears, now just occasionally have a few trickles!! Super stoked!”

The whole event had a light and happy feel as individual pendants held a pearl for personal use or as gifts for friends and family.

Plans are in motion for the Mint Bar to host another Pearls for Precious Angels fundraiser to raise the money needed for the other Cuddle Cot at a later date in 2018.