Rapaport's Fair Trade Symposium at JCK - ‘Doing Good IS Good Business’

Gleim The Jeweler and Smithworks Fine Jewelry agreed with the Diamond Empowerment Fund’s (DEF) message that ‘Doing Good IS Good Business’ and signed on to the Diamonds for Good Membership Program at the recent AGS Conclave.

The Diamonds for Good Membership Program is designed to highlight a company's commitment to giving back and supporting DEF’s mission of empowerment through education in diamond-producing nations. Studies have shown that more than 80 percent of consumers care that the companies they do business with give back to the community in some way.  Phyllis Bergman, DEF's board president, affirms “the Diamonds for Good program allows participating companies to easily and visibly
 
And it is not only retailers who see the importance of this program from a social and business perspective. Rubel & Ménasché (R-M), part of the Dali Diamond Group, based in Paris and a supplier of specialty high-end small goods also recently signed on “…because we believe in supporting programs which impact communities where our most precious gems originate,” says Elodie Daguzan, the head of communications for R-M.

DEF will be at JCK Las Vegas, booth L-11. The organization’s presentation “Doing Good is Good Business” will be given on Friday, May 31 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Tradewinds EF.

Visit www.diamodempowermentfund.org to download a membership form or contact executive director Nancy Orem Lyman at 212.359.4219,  n.lyman-at-diamondempowerment.org.

About the Diamond Empowerment FundThe Diamond Empowerment Fund is a New York based global non-profit organization (EIN# 20-5967103) that raises money to fund education initiatives in African diamond-producing nations. Its beneficiaries include: CIDA City Campus, South Africa’s first non-profit university to offer a four-year business degree.  CIDA has an 80% employment rate among graduates; the African Leadership Academy, a university preparatory school in Johannesburg, South Africa, founded on the belief that ethical leadership is the key to sustainable development on the continent and drawing students from all 54 countries in Africa, and the Botswana Top Achievers program that provides the top high school students countrywide the opportunity to study at a university of their choice worldwide. Graduates then return to Botswana to contribute to its economic, social and political development.  www.diamondempowerment.org.

DEF Premieres NEW "DIAMONDS FOR GOOD" Membership Program

DIAMOND EMPOWERMENT FUND ANNOUNCES NEW

DIAMONDS FOR GOOD MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM

The Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF) launched a global annual membership program today designed to highlight companies in the diamond and jewelry industry who support DEF’s mission of youth education empowerment and leadership development in diamond producing countries.

A full 80% of global consumers believe it is important for companies to make them aware of their corporate social responsibility efforts according to global PR giant Edelman’s latest research study.  Consumers connect with DEF’s positive message. During a recent survey of DEF’s followers on social media, one respondent affirmed “the fact that major retailers and the diamond industry are supporting DEF means they are creating social change and awareness – and that has a huge impact on how I view the diamond industry more positively.”

Phyllis Bergman, CEO of Mercury Ring and DEF Board President, believes that DEF’s Membership Program “will enable industry members to show their customers the importance they place on an initiative that gives back to the communities where their diamonds are sourced. Developing the next generation of leaders through education in diamond producing countries speaks to this commitment."

A key element to the Diamonds for Good Membership Program is a seal created for members to use across all lines of communication. The seal positions a green diamond in the center of a circle created with diamonds and the words ‘Diamond Empowerment Fund, Diamonds for Good Member’.  A higher level of support, the Empowerment Circle, includes this same seal, and an added ring of diamonds with the words Empowerment Circle in the center. Inaugural members of the Empowerment Circle include the Dalumi Group, Malca-Amit, Sterling Jewelers, and Leo Schachter Diamonds.  

Visit www.diamodempowermentfund.org to download a membership form.

About the Diamond Empowerment Fund

The Diamond Empowerment Fund is a New York based global non-profit organization (EIN# 20-5967103) that raises money to fund education initiatives in African diamond-producing nations. Its beneficiaries include: CIDA City Campus, South Africa’s first non-profit university to offer a four-year business degree.  CIDA has an 80% employment rate among graduates; the African Leadership Academy, a university preparatory school in Johannesburg, South Africa, founded on the belief that ethical leadership is the key to sustainable development on the continent and drawing students from all 54 countries in Africa, and the Botswana Top Achievers program that provides the top high school students countrywide the opportunity to study at a university of their choice worldwide. Graduates then return to Botswana to contribute to its economic, social and political development.  www.diamondempowerment.org.