DEF to Honor Helzberg at ‘Diamonds Do Good’

New York--The Diamond Empowerment Fund has announced it will honor retailer Helzberg Diamonds with the Corporate Legacy of Philanthropy Award at its Diamonds Do Good event in Las Vegas.

The event is scheduled for June 4 at the Four Seasons Ballroom.

The Corporate Legacy of Philanthropy Award honors the actions taken by a corporation to better the lives in its local community while making a difference globally. DEF said that for more than a century, Helzberg has “epitomized this ideal.”

Morris Helzberg opened the first Helzberg store opened in 1915 in Kansas City, Kansas but his son, Barnett, soon took over the responsibility. His business skills and sense of community responsibility were what helped to grow the company even during the Great Depression.

He made himself an integral part of the community, providing counseling for the Girl Scouts, support for the Kansas City Zoo and establishing the Diamond Council of America.

When his son Barnett Jr. took over, he continued this tradition. He also developed the “I am loved” button promotion after proposing to his wife, Shirley, which became a campaign of goodwill sent to military men serving in the Vietnam War, children in hospitals and eventually was translated into more than 11 languages.

Barnett Jr. sold the company to Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway in1995. Beryl Raff was named the next leader of the company in 2009.

Three years later, in 2012, Helzberg established “Helzberg Helps” to honor its philanthropic traditions, with the mission of leading fundraising efforts and organizing volunteer activities primarily for charitable entities that support the benefit of children and families in need.

The company’s largest charitable efforts since 2009 supported Make-A-Wish America.

The retailer is one of three honorees at this year’s gala. The other two have not yet been announced.

For more information and to purchase tickets/sponsorships, visit DiamondsDoGoodAwards.org.

This story was updated post-publication because National Jeweler erroneously reported that  two of the honorees from the 2016 Diamonds Do Good Awards gala--Dorothee Gizenga and Chow Tai Fook--were being honored in 2017. The Diamond Empowerment will be announcing the two additional honorees soon.