Owner of Mock & Co. Jewelry in Monroeville recognized for helping community through pandemic

A Monroeville jewelry store owner was recognized for helping his employees and community during the covid-19 pandemic.

Anthony Mock, owner of Mock & Co. Jewelry, won SaverLife’s Tax Time Story Contest. SaverLife is a national nonprofit dedicated to helping people save money. The contest asked members to nominate someone they would give their tax refund to and explain why.

Mock won the contest after one of his employees, Terri Hogan-Williams, nominated him for his generosity during the pandemic.

“I’ve always seen him giving to people. It touched me so much,” Hogan-Williams said.

During the pandemic, he found about 20 single moms and offered to pay their utility bills around the Christmas season.

“My mom was a single mom,” Mock said. “I saw her struggle, so I thought whenever I get money, I don’t want to see others struggle.”

Every year around the holidays, Mock finds some way to help single-mother families. One year, he paid off a car for a single mom.

Mock also went above and beyond to make sure his employees were taken care of during the pandemic, dipping into his own money to make sure they received their regular paychecks — plus a Christmas bonus.

“He did a lot for us,” Hogan-Williams said. “We never missed a paycheck.”

Mock said he has worked for many employers throughout his lifetime. Some treated their employees poorly. He wants to be sure his nine employees have a good work situation.

“I wanted to be that boss where people are excited to be here, and I show my appreciation for them,” he said.

Mock called the SaverLife recognition “a blessing,” but said he doesn’t need recognition for helping others. Mock said he’s been giving back to the community for years, but typically prefers to do so discretely and often anonymously.

“He didn’t want any recognition,” Hogan-Williams said. “The people who know Anthony know he does it from his heart.”

Mock also uses his jewelry store, which sells all custom-made jewelry, to serve as an inspiration for other young Black men. He took on a high schooler as an apprentice and helps show young people that there are a plethora of career options available to anyone, Hogan-Williams said.

Mock became interested in crafting jewelry at age 16, he said. He got in trouble and was suspended from Gateway High School. His teacher recommended he find something meaningful to do. After taking a trip through Monroevile Mall, he discovered a kiosk that offered quick jewelry repairs. He got a job there and taught himself how to work on jewelry.

“About 80% of it I learned on my own,” he said, explaining that the jeweler at the kiosk eventually started teaching him some of the skills.

He has worked at a number of jewelry stores, learning from jewelers while still working to teach himself more and more. He still tries to teach himself new ways to improve his craft.

About two years ago, he decided he was ready to create his own company.

“We started literally in my basement, just hustling,” Mock said.

Now, Mock has a location on William Penn Highway in Monroeville. He crafts custom jewelry for customers around the country.

“It’s all custom-made, high expertise,” he said. “It’s becoming more known.”

But what matters most to Mock is using his platform to give back to the community and help others.

He encouraged young people to find good mentors and be ambitious.

“If someone doesn’t make room for you at the table, make your own table,” he said.

Mock said he hopes to expand his business by opening a second location in Florida soon.

Mock’s story stood out to those at SaverLife because of his efforts to help his community, including his employees, during a year when the pandemic hindered his jewelry business, according to Neha Gupta, vice president of marketing at SaverLife.

“There’s so many things that we loved about this story,” she said. “It was just an inspiring story of how even in a pandemic when folks are really suffering, they can find ways to really keep helping each other.”

The contest comes with a $5,000 award, which is split between the nominee and the person who nominated him, she explained.

When Mock found out he won, Gupta said, his response demonstrated why he was a good fit for the award.

“His first thought after getting the money was how he can keep using the money to help others,” she said. “He was trying to do what we could in his space and that’s really what we try to encourage.”

Hogan-Williams, the employee who nominated him, received half of the reward money, Gupta said. Hogan-Williams has been a SaverLife member for about five months, she said, and is trying to improve her saving habits.

“That’s why we wanted the money to be shared,” Gupta said. “Terry’s really trying to pull herself up as well.”

Gupta said SaverLife plans to host the contest again next year, as a way to encourage people to help themselves and help others.

As for Mock, his future goals include buying homes for single mothers. He said he’ll continue helping the community however he can as he works toward that aspiration.

“It’s just second nature,” he said. “I just have a big heart.”