The Empty Bowls fundraiser is a longstanding staple of many Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Weeks. The first Empty Bowls event was held 26 years ago, and since then the event has spread to locations across the world.
An Empty Bowls event serves both to raise awareness about poverty and raise money for a local charity. The first step is to find a local arts center or business that will let you use their workspace and their kiln. Once you have a location, enlist a group of volunteers to make and paint their own ceramic bowls. Encourage them to get creative – each bowl should feel original.
The next step is to organize a dinner event to showcase the bowls. Attendees will be asked to make a donation and in exchange they will be fed a simple meal of soup and bread out of one of the handmade bowls. Each attendee gets to take their bowl home as a reminder of the experience. You should also invite a guest speaker to talk to the group and lead a discussion during the dinner about hunger and homelessness in the community.
For more information on the history of Empty Bowls, visit www.emptybowls.net.