DOWAGIAC — A small pair of sterling silver ball earrings sit on the counter at Vincent J. Jewelers.

To some, they look like an ordinary pair of earrings, but to owner Jim Frazier, they represent the opportunity to help the communities of Dowagiac and Watervliet.

Throughout the month of December, Frazier, the owner of Vincent J. Jewelers at 118 S. Front St., Dowagiac, and a second location at 228 N. Paw Paw St., Coloma, will be selling the sterling silver earrings for $10. All proceeds raised will be donated to local food pantries.

Specifically, the proceeds raised at Dowagiac’s store will raise money for ACTION Ministries and C. Wimberley Automotive’s annual Feed the Hungry Food Drive, which takes place throughout the month.

“It stays right here in town. I don’t like to donate to people that are taking money out of our town,” Frazier said. “Our philosophy, like a lot of people in town here, is we are going to donate to people that buy from us. We are going to buy from them if they buy from us. It’s kind of a give or take.”

The donations raised through Feed the Hungry go towards local Cass County families and food pantries, including ACTION Ministries, located on Main Street in Dowagiac. Proceeds from the Coloma location will be donated to Living Water Food Pantry at Watervliet Free Methodist Church.

Frazier has annually donated to the Feed the Hungry Food Drive since its inception. Frazier, who is from the Coloma/Watervliet area, compared Dowagiac to his hometown.

“It’s just like home — just change the faces, and people are friendly,” Frazier said.

Frazier moved his second location of Vincent J. Jewelers to Dowagiac in 1996 and celebrated 23 years at the location in February.

“We just adopted the town,” he said.

Frazier is a supporter of donating money to the cause of Feed the Hungry, because he sees just how far it can go.

“If you are acquainted with Feed the Hungry campaign, [donating money] is better than donating canned goods or food to the food bank,” Frazier said. “Every $1 donated to the pantry buys about $7.50 in food.”

Through the month of December, Frazier said it is common for his customers to want to buy the earrings and donate more money than the $10. Sometimes, customers just make monetary donations at the jewelry store.

“People look forward to the little things that they can do,” said Frazier’s daughter, Angela Roberts, who works alongside her father in Dowagiac. “Some people will buy them for all their grandkids, or people buy the earrings for themselves. It goes to a good cause, and we are proud to do it.”