By Alexia Helmer
Kevin and Carolyn Denney of Precious Jewelers, located on Vandalia Road, have been running their quaint and charming jewelry store for quite some time now. Kevin Denney grew up learning business and how to manage as he studied the way his father ran their family business. After partnering with his father and brother for many years, Kevin decided to venture out on his own in 2001 and he opened Precious Jewelers.
In admiration of their hometown and with a giving heart, the Denneys enjoy doing what they can to help out their Jacksonville community. For the past four years they’ve chosen to team up with the Berco Jewelery Company in order to “Help Make The Holidays Brighter For Those In Need,” as their holiday flyer states, and they encourage their customers to give as well. Kevin and Carolyn Denney are no strangers to giving back to their community as they are constantly doing what they can to help out various local causes and charities, but it’s during the holidays each year that they are able to team up with an outside business to offer something different to the residents of Jacksonville. This year, they came together to sell numerous pairs of pearl earrings for just $5. This type of donation is different, however, to other donations because the Denneys do not keep any of the proceeds that they make off of the earrings. “The company offers the product to us and we can choose whoever we want to donate the money to,” states Carolyn Denney, “People need the help and this is a great way…to give five dollars for an item and you’re giving something you can give away as a present…and all of your money goes directly towards the Food Bank and we match that amount.”
I asked Carolyn why she chose the Food Bank to donate the money to and she responded, “I think they kind of really need it this time of year.” This year the Denneys will be donating $1000 to the Jacksonville Area Community Food Center located on State Street. When making their decision on where to donate the money that they make from the earrings, the Denneys like to keep it local. “It’s all family,” Carolyn remarked. As we continued to discuss the loving aura that Jacksonville tends to give off to all of those that come and go from our little town, we agreed that although Jacksonville isn’t a tiny town, it’s small enough to the point where everyone knows everyone or everyone knows of everyone, and it is for this reason that each individual has the job of looking out for one another.
Conversing with the Denneys, their love for Jacksonville was very apparent through their kind words and broad smiles. This couple truly wants to help those in need, and they want to encourage their familial community to do the same. The Denneys are definitely Jacksonvillians as their business has made its home here for the past fourteen years, and they will happily be celebrating their fifteenth anniversary this March.
