The Acton Senior Center’s annual jewelry sale is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, October 22 and 23, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.. This popular event, which is organized by the Friends of the Acton Council on Aging (COA), offers several categories of jewelry for sale – including a new one – at reasonable prices, and everyone is welcome to attend.
On September 27, I interviewed Mary Westcott, a member of the board of the Friends of the Acton COA, who has a background in jewelry appraisal. Once again, she is heading up the team of volunteers who are organizing this year’s fundraising event.
Here are my questions (GJ) and her answers (MW).
Greg Jarboe (GJ): “When you open a box of donated jewelry, what’s the very first thing that runs through your mind?”
Mary Westcott: (MW): “I’m always amazed at the variety. I’m also astonished by the generosity of the givers.” She added, “It’s a great cause.”
All the money raised at the event will support the classes and programs at the Acton Senior Center, which is located at the rear of 30 Sudbury Road. Thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Friends, most classes and programs are available to Acton senior citizens for free.
GJ: “Last year’s jewelry sale raised $10,000. How did that success shape your approach to this year’s event?”
MW: “Last year was our best year ever. It’s going to be very difficult to top that.”
So, what is her strategy?
Westcott says, “Pre-sale, I look at every piece of jewelry.” She sorts out all the odd pieces of gold or sterling silver – like one earring – which can be sold as scrap. That’s where more than half of the money raised last year came from.
In addition, Westcott and Sue Fenton have spent the past several months sorting through an estimated 3,000 pieces of jewelry, each one donated by Acton seniors. And she’s spotted a new category of jewelry.
Brutalist jewelry is a style that emphasizes raw, unfinished textures, bold and often asymmetrical geometric or abstract forms, and substantial, sculptural designs, heavily inspired by the Brutalist architecture movement of the mid-20th century. Pieces feature materials like concrete, steel, glass, bronze, copper, and large, unpolished stones, resulting in visually impactful, “handmade” looking, and often chunky statement pieces.
Westcott said, “You can wear it with denims, flannels, or work clothes.” She added, “It’s for people who are not looking for the glitz.”
GJ: “How has your volunteer team grown or evolved this year?”
MW: “Our team has grown to 20 volunteers.” She adds, “A lot of them are veterans [of previous jewelry sales].”
Her team has been involved in the preparation of the displays of thousands of pieces of jewelry. So, they can “assist clients in choosing items for gift giving or select jewelry for themselves.”
GJ: “What’s the most delightful surprise you and your team have uncovered while sorting through thousands of pieces?”
MW: “A special watch – one of the collectable watches.”
Westcott has worked at an appraisal company for more than 30 years. So, when she recognizes something special, it goes to Kaminski Auctions in Beverly, where it is auctioned off and the money comes to Acton as part of the jewelry sale.
For Westcott and her team, every donated bracelet, necklace, or single earring is more than just jewelry — it’s a small treasure waiting to find new life. “The real surprise,” she says, “isn’t what’s inside the boxes, but the generosity of the seniors who donated it and how much good those boxes can do.”
By the end of the sale, the Friends of the Acton COA will have turned a community’s castoffs into new programs, new classes, and new connections at the Senior Center — proving that the real gems are found in the act of giving.
Greg Jarboe is the Acton Exchange Senior Center beat reporter.
