Why Mom Deserves a Diamond, Inc.
I’m glad I did not call it quits when I dreamed of integrating a writing contest into the curriculum of the national school system. When attorneys and school officials cautioned of legal problems, the negativity was just the encouragement I needed to create the largest mothers appreciation contest in the United States.
I was adopted as a child and never met my birthmother. I wanted to honor both my adoptive mother and my birthmother. The contest would also allow kids to do the same by expressing their feelings for the important person who prepares them in their life’s journey.
In 1993, I held the first writing contest in a small jewelry boutique in Costa Mesa, CA. Later, I created Why Mom Deserves a Diamond, Inc., and expanded to a larger facility in Newport Beach. Today, the contest provides an unforgettable experience for nearly four thousand families every year. The grand prize is a diamond. Runner ups receive other semi-precious gemstones to give to their mothers.
Every submission goes through a complex management system including sorting, filing, typing, and is judged by a panel of licensed schoolteachers. Students are then graded for creativity. The secret ingredient was a company that could connect the kids and families of the school system to a jewelry store.
Today, the management system of Why Mom Deserves a Diamond Inc., has brought hundreds of thousands of parents and their kids to Gallery of Diamonds jewelers, the flagship store, for a wonderful mother and child experience. Although the prizes have become lasting memories, they have never been able to compete with the precious words of love a child composes for the person that nurtures and instructs us through life.
What a wonderful way to honor the love between a child and mother. It truly is like a diamond, a lasting treasure.
Thank you so much for your wonderful words and thoughts, Wendy.
What a terrific legacy you’ve created.
Sheri, I hope you do not feel it is too late for me to thank you for your wonderful words.