MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – Lauri Proulx’s prize diamond first ended up in the trash by mistake – and now it’s been returned to the jeweler’s, along with her request to donate its $2,500 value to a toy drive.

Proulx had attended a Manchester Monarchs hockey game on Dec. 9. As a promotion, jeweler David Bellman gave the first 1,000 women through the gates an envelope. One contained a half-carat diamond; the others held cubic zirconias. Jewelers were available to check the stones during the game, but the diamond didn’t show up, and Bellman was worried that someone had thrown it away.

And that’s just what happened – Proulx said she never wins anything, and her roommate tossed it in the trash after it sat on a counter over a weekend. Her son heard about the missing diamond and fished the stone out of the trash. It checked out.

Proulx, however, felt that toys for needy youngsters were more important than a new piece of jewelry for herself. She asked that the jeweler donate the amount to the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program. Proulx and Bellman’s Jewelers planned to give a $2,500 check to the program on Wednesday.

“Talk about Christmas spirit,” Bellman said. “I couldn’t believe it. I even said to her, Are you sure?’ It goes beyond generosity.”