Helzberg Diamonds has been kind enough to offer to give one complete set of the three pieces shown below to one lucky reader! To be eligible for the drawing, just click the Facebook “Like” button on the right side of this page and then post a comment here saying how you’ll be incorporating charitable giving in your Christmas and holiday gift giving this year. I’ll announce the winner shortly, along with the winner of the charity wine giveaway! (Sorry, no diamonds, but still a value of over $200 nonetheless!)

Some of my earliest and fondest memories are of Dorothy Hamill in the mid-1970′s skating perfect routine after perfect routine. I remember watching with my family as she accepted the gold medal for women’s singles in Innsbruck in 1976. Looking back, she was perhaps the last figure skater from a simpler time–before tire irons to the knees, tabloid headlines, and multi-million dollar contracts. She was just “American’s Sweetheart”.

In the years following her success as World Champion and Olympic Champion, Dorothy Hamill went on to skate professionally in shows and serve as a skating commentator and mentor to up-and-coming skaters. She’s achieved every plateau a figure skater can reach, having been inducted into the United States and the World Figure Skating Halls of Fame.

In 2008, she announced she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Happily, she has since made a full recovery.

Recently, a representative from Helzberg Diamonds contacted me to tell me about a new product line. It’s called the “Love, Help, & Hope” collection. It’s a collection of beautiful jewelry created by Dorothy Hamill herself after her own personal experience with the disease, and intended to bring awareness to breast cancer, which millions of woman still battle every day nationwide.

The collection is beautiful, and ranges in price from $79.99 for some elegant sterling silver pieces (pictured below) to $1999.99 for a stunning 1 carat total weight piece shaped like a heart with a ribbon inside. A portion of the proceeds from the “Love, Help & Hope” collection will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Helzberg sent me a few samples of their $79.99 sterling silver and rhodium pieces. There’s a necklace shaped like a charity ribbon with a rhodium band that’s a pinkish, golden color on a delicate 18 inch box chain:

There’s also a beautiful pair of sterling silver earrings with the same charity ribbon pattern:

And finally, a beautiful ring with the charity ribbon.

The pieces were beautiful, brilliant, and solid. The designs were simple and elegant enough to complement just about any outfit. And of course, they serve as a powerful statement–that while breast cancer is still a scourge that affects 1 in 8 women nationwide, with early detection, regular mammograms, and the newest methods of treatment and support more and more women are beating it. But awareness and donations are critically needed more than ever.

You can view all the pieces (including the exquisite heart and diamond pendants) athttp://helzberg.com/dorothy. If you prefer, you can purchase any other item from Helzberg Diamonds, and add a $5 donation to your shopping cart from this page.

As Christmas shopping season gets underway, consider these pieces of jewelry. Not only are they stunningly beautiful, if they can remind one woman to get checked early, or remind one person of the importance of supporting charities looking for a cure for cancer, there aren’t many more meaningful gifts you can give.

For Breast Cancer Month 2010, Red Envelope is donating 10% of proceeds from its Pink Ribbon Collection to Susan G. Komen. The collection features jewelry, clothes, accessories,  flowers, and more.

The Pink Eternity Ring Necklace (pictured) is a beautiful choice. My personal favorite are the Oprah-approved pink chocolate covered strawberries.

If you enter code REDTIER at checkout, you’ll enjoy 10% off your order, 15% off an order of $80 or more, and 20% off an orderof $125 or more.

Throughout October 2010, ProFlowers is making a 10% Donation to Susan G. Komen Foundation when you shop the Pink Ribbon Collection.

Aside from being the color of breast cancer awareness, pink in flowers also traditionally symbolizes grace, gentility, and joy.

Choose from a variety of bouquets, including lilies (great for Mom), gladiolus, mixed bouquets or my personal favorite, pink gerbera daisies (pictured)

This Learn to Knit for a Cause kit, available from Target, is a great gift for someone who wants to learn to knit.

It comes with everything you need to get started, including two balls of pink yarn, size 15 knitting needles, a large blunt eye needly for finishing, and fully illustrated instructions on how to knit your scarf.

A portion of proceed will go to benefit Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The kit also comes with a laminated self-exam guide.

This pink necklace from Red Envelope is stunningly beautiful. It’s carved and polished from rose-pink cat’s eye, a pink granite stone from India.

It’s wrapped and suspended by a gold-filled chain. The pink ring has a one inch diameter, and the chain adjusts from sixteen to eighteen inches, with a lobster clasp to hold it together. 

Proceeds will go to help Susan Komen for the Cure.

In past years we’ve highlighted some of KitchenAid’s best products in their Cook for the Cure collection, including their innovative Pass the Plate promotion and of course, the always popular Pink KitchenAid Mixer.

This year’s new entrant is a very stylish and functional tea kettle. The Cook for the Cure® Tea Kettle in Pink is new for this year and is one of the most beautiful tea kettle designs I’ve seen.

The kettle holds two quarts of water, has a stylish and easy-to-grip silicone handle which protects your hands against the heat, and is dishwasher safe.

$5 from every kettle will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The Pink Silk Tie you see to the right is one of several great new designs available for purchase from Macy’s for Breast Cancer Awareness.

 It’s a stylish 100% silk tie that’ll look sharp with any formal or work outfit. And the pink ribbon logo in the corner of the tie will help bring awareness to the important cause of breast cancer awareness–and will show the world you care as well.

 Macy’s has a number of tie designs ranging from pink with a repeating ribbon design to Paisley to Two Tone Stripe. A percentage of each purchase goes to help Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

EA Sports Active: Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Edition is a special limited edition of the very popular Wii fitness title from EA Sports. And for today only (Tuesday, October 13, 2009), it’s available as the Amazon Video Game Deal of the Day for the unheard-of price of $44.98, or $15 under the retail price.

The actual game is pretty much the same as the original (see a review of EA Sports Active here). The difference, of course, is that some of the proceeds will go to Susan G Komen For the Cure.

EA Sports Active takes interactive fitness to new levels by allowing you to customize your workouts, choosing from a variety of aerobic, upper body, lower body, and athletic exercises.

Red Envelope has these cute chocolate-covered strawberries which are decorated with pink frosting, candies, and a pink ribbon design.

They’re hand-dipped and so juicy and fresh the strawberry juice will drip all over you, so be careful when eating! You can get them in a pack of 6, 12, or 24. It’s a great twist on the old favorite of chocolate covered strawberries. 10% of proceeds will go to Susan G. Komen For the Cure.

For the month of October only, MyMM.com is selling these beautiful pink M&Ms where 10% of the purchase price will go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, with a guaranteed donation of at least $850,000. You can purchase either M&Ms which are pre-printed with ribbon designs and the words “FOR THE CURE”, or you can even add your own custom message. You can buy it in a 7 ounce bag or a 1.75 ounce favor size, great for weddings, parties, and events.The My M&M’s site allows you to customize M&Ms throughout the year with a your own colors and messages, but during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, your purchase will go to helping a great cause. It’s the perfect thing to buy if you’ll be hosting or participating in an event for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.