Cincinnati, Ohio, April 29, 2015 – The Fourth Annual Empty Bowls event was held at Saint Ursula Academy on April 29, benefiting the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN).
The Saint Ursula Academy community provided a simple meal and asked that event attendees keep in mind the “Empty Bowls” in our community and around the world where hunger is a way a life. Donations were accepted with 100% of proceeds donated to IHN.
The event at Saint Ursula Academy was a joint service project between the Art Department and the Community Service Learning Department (CSLD). Ceramics instructor Kurt Nicaise guided students through a deliberate process of creating handmade, ceramic bowls, while CSLD Coordinator Peggy Platz ’84 promoted the event by educating the Saint Ursula community about the number of people who are hungry in the Greater Cincinnati area and throughout the world. Additionally, Religion teacher Chris Potter-Wroblewski encouraged students to compose prayers which were placed in the bowls to remind the recipient to pray for those whose bowls are empty. This combined effort brings much greater awareness and understanding to the students.
Said Platz, “By combining art and service for the Empty Bowls event, we educated the girls about a need in our community, and about the importance of using their gifts and talents to take action when a need is realized. The idea of using art to raise awareness and money for those who are hungry provides a concrete example of ways Saint Ursula Academy students can help ‘build a better world,’ which is the foundation of our mission statement.”
Shelby Schwarz, a junior from Hyde Park, created a bowl for the event. “I enjoyed participating in the event because I was able to use my hands to create something that will benefit others. My bowl says ‘Giving Life-Feeding Others’ which is the goal of this project.”
Ceramics student Kelsey Dollenmayer, a senior from Hyde Park, inscribed her bowl with the word “Living”. She appreciated the process used to create a “feeling” for her bowl. “The creative process allowed me to put my true feelings into something that I am ultimately giving to someone else. That word—living—will be on that bowl forever.”
Approximately 130 people attended the Empty Bowls Event, which raised just more than $1,500 for IHN.
Empty Bowls is an international grassroots effort to fight hunger. It was originally conceived by an Art Teacher, John Hartom from a high school in Michigan in 1991. The basic premise is simple: potters, educators, and others work with the community to create handcrafted bowls. Guests are then invited to a simple meal of soup and bread. In exchange for a cash donation, guests are asked to keep a bowl as a reminder of all the “empty bowls” in the world. The money raised is donated to a local organization working to alleviate hunger. More information can be found at www.emptybowls.net.
To learn more about St. Ursula Academy, please visit www.saintursula.org.
St. Ursula Academy is a Catholic, college-preparatory, secondary school for young women known for academic excellence and rich tradition. St. Ursula welcomes students from more than 70 grade schools in the Greater Cincinnati area. In 2002 the Academy was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School. The campus, located at 1339 E. McMillan Street in East Walnut Hills has been the home of St. Ursula Academy and Convent since 1910. The Class of 2014 earned college scholarships totaling more than $20-million.