Empty Bowls is an international fundraiser with a goal to end hunger. It started in 1990 in Michigan and has been going on ever since. It brings community together by hosting events where any person can buy a bowl to paint, and all the proceeds go to food related charities.
The Upper Valley MEND adapted this fundraiser and has been hosting it in Leavenworth since 1996. MEND is a nonprofit that works to help people in need in the Upper Wenatchee Valley. The goal for Empty Bowls is to help end hunger by supporting the local Community Cupboard and local youth through art grants. Local potters donate bowls and volunteers help run the multiple day event.
For many families in the community, Empty Bowls has been a yearly tradition. “We have been going for five years or so, and it's become bit of a tradition,” said Coal Fiano (10). It is a great and easy way to give back. “Our fundraiser includes purchasing a bowl to paint that includes a ticket to our soup supper, our annual Artist Bowl online auction, the Artist Bowl Showcase event and finally the soup supper and student artist raffle bowls that are available at the soup supper,” explained UV Empty Bowls Committee Member, Tiffany Brine-Davies. It is a great way to unify the community, and everyone gets to chat and eat delicious food. This year the soup dinner is March 21st from 5:30-7:00 p.m. at the Festhalle. If you painted a bowl, make sure to be there to pick it up and see it glazed and ready.
Throughout the length of this fundraiser there are plenty of community service opportunities: purchasing a bowl to paint or a soup dinner ticket, volunteering to work the fundraiser, or painting a bowl to be auctioned/raffled off. Many of CHS’s students take advantage of this opportunity for the hours they will need to graduate. CHS art teacher, Teara Dillon, hand-selects a small group of her art students to paint a bowl for the raffle. “It is a type of community service that I really enjoy. You kind of get to be on your own and focus on your own creative process. And I'd rather do that than pick up trash,” said Ellie Holm (12).
For more information on Empty Bowls visit https://www.uvemptybowls.org/.