Columbia Gem House (CGH) has launched its fifth annual online fundraising raffle, “Opals for Outback Heroes,” inspired by — and directly benefiting — the community behind this year’s featured gemstones: Lightning Ridge opals.
Press Release
Columbia Gem House
These world-famous opals come from the Lightning Ridge area of New South Wales, Australia, where the volunteer-run Lightning Ridge Rural Fire Brigade protects the people, wildlife, and landscape surrounding the mines. In collaboration with their sourcing partner Cheal Opal, Columbia Gem House intentionally chose the Brigade as this year’s fundraiser recipient to give back to the very community that makes these stones possible.
The Opals for Outback Heroes Fundraiser runs alongside the MJSA Responsibly Sourced Design Challenge — an annual competition celebrating responsible sourcing and creative jewelry design (see below). Each year, designers craft one-of-a-kind pieces inspired by the Challenge’s fictional story using gemstones donated by Columbia Gem House, then donate those finished pieces to the fundraiser.
How to Participate [October 1–31, 2025]:
1) Purchase raffle tickets at www.columbiagemhouse.com
Tickets are $25 each, with only 100 tickets available per piece — giving supporters a strong chance to win one of the donated jewelry pieces
100% of every ticket sold will be donated to the Lightning Ridge Rural Fire Brigade Volunteers
2) Vote for your favorite design in the Design Challenge at www.mjsa.org
The raffle and design challenge unite around the shared values of responsible sourcing, inspired design, and supporting the communities that bring these extraordinary gems to life.
Ticket sales for the Opals for Outback Heroes Fundraiser will be open October 1 – 31st. 2025.
Winners will be randomly selected and notified by November 10th, 2025.
Every Ticket Supports the Protectors of Lightning Ridge
The stunning opals featured in this year’s jewelry come from Australia’s famous Lightning Ridge — and every raffle ticket you purchase directly supports the volunteer firefighters who safeguard that very community and landscape.
The Lightning Ridge Rural Fire Service responds to bushfires, structure fires, land searches, hazard-reduction burns, and motor vehicle accidents. Despite all they do, fundraising for this fully volunteer-run brigade relies solely on small community BBQs.
This year, 100% of raffle proceeds will fund vital upgrades: refitting the meeting and training room with new tables, chairs, computers, lamps, and office supplies; acquiring a thermal imaging camera essential for detecting heat during structure fires; and, if funds allow, repainting the training space, adding a pressure cleaner for equipment maintenance, and installing lockers to properly store gear.
By supporting this fundraiser, you’re directly strengthening the brigade’s ability to train, stay safe, and continue their lifesaving work — right at the source of the opals you love.
A Song of the Outback
2025 MJSA Challenge: Responsibly Sourced Designs
The CGH fundraiser runs alongside the MJSA Responsibly Sourced Design Challenge,
and together they celebrate responsible sourcing and support for the jewelry supply chain.
While the two projects share the same inspiration, they are separate.
Participation is the same as mentioned above:
1) Vote for your favorite design in the MJSA Design Challenge: https://www.mjsa.org/events/design-challenge
2) Purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win one of the donated jewelry pieces created for this fundraiser.
Inspiration
Each raffle piece was inspired by the fictional story written for the MJSA competition and brought to life with gemstones donated by Columbia Gem House.
Matilda Cleary, an environmental scientist from New South Wales with a deep connection to the rugged Outback, is the inspiration for this year’s design challenge. A long-time favorite of our readers, this annual challenge tasks a handful of designers with creating a unique piece of jewelry based on a fictional narrative and a collection of responsibly sourced gemstones. Their creations will be showcased here throughout the year, culminating in a vote for the winning design by you in October.
This year’s challenge features a collection of responsibly sourced gemstones. The project sponsor, Columbia Gem House in Vancouver, Washington, is donating the gemstones to the participating designers so they can bring their designs to life. The final pieces are featured in our fundraising raffle.
