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Gemcutter Roger Dery Raffles Reena Ahluwalia Painting To Benefit Miners September 29, 2021 (0 comments)
Royal Oak, MI—Roger Dery of Roger Dery Gem Design, is celebrating his 40th year in business and 40th visit to Africa with a charity raffle to benefit Gem Legacy, a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to kids, education, and entrepreneurship initiatives in East African colored gemstone mining communities. Dery, a member of both the American Gem Trade Association and a registered supplier with the American Gem Society, reached out to renowned Canadian designer and painter Reena Ahluwalia to create a Tanzanite painting of a gem he faceted in his “signature round” design, for the raffle, which begins on October 1 and will finish on October 18.
Ahluwalia’s painting brought the gem’s facets to life to express Dery’s philanthropic work in the mining communities. The 24-inch, circular, curved-edge painting is valued at $6,000. Raffle tickets are $40 each and can be purchased by making a direct donation to Gem Legacy. Proceeds will be donated to Gem Legacy’s Miner Toolkit initiative, which puts tools in the hands of artisanal miners to ensure they are mining safely and effectively. Each toolkit costs $125. Dery’s goal is to sponsor 40 kits, totaling $5,000 in ticket sales.
“My 40 years in the gem business have been my hobby, my job, and my ministry, and I am excited to give back to the industry that has given so much to me,” said Dery. “Miners are my heroes. They spend their lives mining the gems I am honored to facet. This is my tribute back to them: to put the right mining tools in their hands to ensure their mining is safe and successful.”
Aluwahlia added, “When Roger reached out to me to create a custom painting and shared the impact of Gem Legacy, I immediately got onboard. I always strive to create art that can touch people’s lives positively and make a tangible difference. I am honored that my ‘Gem Legacy’ painting is able to contribute in raising funds.”
The process of creating the painting can be viewed here. Second and third prizes of museum-quality, limited-edition canvas prints of the painting, valued at $800 each, also will be awarded. To enter the raffle, visit: https://rogerdery.com/40th/