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Gem Of A Donation Sent To North Carolina Goodwill

A Greensboro resident donated this diamond necklace to Triad Goodwill. Photo courtesy of Goodwill Industries of Central North Carolina.

One hundred seventy-six diamonds are a Goodwill's best friend.

Triad Goodwill has announced that a Greensboro resident recently donated an 18-karat, white gold necklace that's been appraised at nearly $6,500. Once the public got wind of the unusual donation, the bids at Goodwill's online auction jumped from about $1,600 to over $5,000.

Whoever ends up with the jewelry may have to invest just a little bit more money. The listing notes the necklace shows “light signs of wear“ and a “slightly bent” clasp that will need to be repaired.

Vice President of Retail Operations Celeste MacMurdo said in a release that putting the necklace up for online auction attracts more bidders. Goodwill plans to funnel the proceeds to its mission of providing free and low-cost job training and placement services.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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