Donated ring nets $5,000 for Salvation Army

By Anthony Gottschlich

Dayton Daily News
CENTERVILLE | — She paid almost $5,000 for a diamond ring that doesn't fit, but Ann Schmitt of Centerville is delighted just the same.

"It's an absolutely beautiful ring and I'll love wearing it," Schmitt said after winning the 1.52-carat ring at a silent auction Saturday at Fair Exchange Jewelry, 43 S. Main St. The auction benefited the Salvation Army.
Schmitt called herself "really frugal," not impulsive, but the story behind the ring, featured in a Dale Huffman column March 23, inspired her.
The ring was dropped in a Salvation Army kettle Dec. 26 outside a Kroger store in Springboro. It was accompanied by an unsigned note, which read in part, "My prayer is that God will bless you and that you will receive great dollars for this ring so that you can help many, many people."
The Salvation Army worker who discovered the ring, Kathy Sizemore of Franklin, put the ring up for silent auction, figuring she could get more money for the Salvation Army that way than a pawn shop might pay.
The minimum starting bid for the ring, appraised at $6,200, was $3,500. Schmitt started at $4,400 and beat out two other bidders before landing the ring for a little less than $5,000. She declined to disclose her final bid.
"I got a good deal," the mother of two grown sons said with a smile that wouldn't stop. "I figure I'll wear it or one of my sons will get it when he decides to get married."
Sizemore, a Salvation Army volunteer for six years in the Springboro, Carlisle and Franklin areas, seemed equally pleased.
"I'm extremely thrilled," she said. "This money will help pay rent, utilities and for a lot of prescription drugs" for the needy.

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