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Proud to be from Pittsburgh: Gifts of hope

PITTSBURGH — Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh features a metal shop class different from most others. Instead of working with sheet metal, students in the class work with silver and turquoise. Their creations aren't just beautiful, they're also gifts of hope to cancer survivors.

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Emily Parisi received a pendant from the students in the jewelry class. Parisi is now facing brain surgery in her second cancer battle, and to offer her courage, the students in the class all worked together to make her a bracelet.

"Each individual leave is made by a different person," said Abbty Paytas, one of the students in the class.

"Our main goal is just to make women smile," said teacher Julie Farber.

Farber and her students started making jewelry for cancer survivors in 2012. She calls it "jewelry love." Her talented students work in teams to craft a piece for a cancer survivor.

"My students called each one up, asked them what they liked in terms of jewelry: long, short, red, blue, turquoise," said Farber.

The jewelry is gifted during an emotional ceremony each May.

WEB EXTRA VIDEO: Peggy Finnegan receives gift from the class she profiled

"There is not a dry eye in the house. It is so touching and so beautiful and so meaningful, and I would go so far as to say that it is life changing for every person in the room," said Lisa Lurie, a cancer survivor.

It's life changing not only for the person who gets the jewelry, but for the students who are not only learning to make beautiful things, but to make things beautiful for people who are suffering.

If you'd like to learn more about the jewelry love project,

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