Jewelry buyers from around the country can help get illegal weapons off the streets of Detroit.
A company called Jewelry For A Cause has recently launched the Detroit Caliber Collection. The 13-item collection joins similar collections for Newark, San Francisco and Hartford.
"Twenty percent of net proceeds goes back to the Detroit Police Department with the purpose of funding gun buy-back and amnesty programs in the city of Detroit," said Jessica Mindich, founder and CEO of Jewelry For A Cause.
Mindich said the jewelry in the Detroit Caliber Collection is made from brass bullet casings and stamped with the unique serial numbers of illegal guns seized by the Detroit Police.
"The idea was to take such weapons of destruction and hate and completely transform them into something that had such positive energy," said Mindich.
Mindich said the Newark Caliber Collection raised $70,000 in about two years and financed two gun buy- back and amnesty programs organized by the Newark Police Department. She estimated the programs took about 400 weapons off the streets of Newark.
"In Detroit, we just started selling and we already have a check for a couple of thousand dollars heading to the city," Mindich said.
Mindich said items in the Detroit Caliber Collection can be purchased at the Detroit Shoppe, the Detroit Institute of Arts and online. They include bracelets, bangles, cuffs, and cuff links and range in price from $150 to $1325.
Virginia Gordan, Michigan Radio Newsroom
