This
Friday, March 23, Virginia Wesleyan University will once again serve as
the host site for the Empty Bowls Charity Dinner. In its 20th year, the
Ceramic Designers Association event will get underway in Boyd Dining
Center at 5:30 p.m. Guests will receive a handmade bowl and enjoy
freshly prepared soups, bread and dessert—but more importantly, they’ll
help alleviate hunger in our community.
The Empty Bowls project
is an international grassroots movement held annually in many
communities to help raise both money and awareness in the fight to end
hunger. The first local Empty Bowls Charity Dinner took place in 1998 at
Holy Family Catholic Church. It moved to Virginia Wesleyan the
following year, thanks to the efforts of Virginia Wesleyan alumna Susan
Alexander Mizell '80.
In addition to providing the venue,
Virginia Wesleyan also arranges for event volunteers and participation
from the University community. Professor of Art Phil Guilfoyle and his
ceramics students often donate their handmade bowls to the event, and
Guilfoyle has been known to perform potter wheel demonstrations. Sodexo,
Virginia Wesleyan’s food service provider, generously provides the
soups served at the event.
All funds raised benefit local
charities such as the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, Judeo-Christian
Outreach Center, Help and Emergency Response Shelter, Oasis Social
Ministries, and Union Mission. In the last five years alone, the event
has raised over $110,000 for hunger-relief efforts in our community.
In
keeping with the University’s Methodist heritage and our commitment to
service learning, Virginia Wesleyan students, faculty, and staff are
encouraged to become active and engaged citizens. This event speaks to
the University’s goal of educating through meaningful service and brings
our campus and community together in partnership to share resources and
meet real community needs.
Tickets for the Empty Bowls Charity
Dinner are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Learn more by visiting
the Ceramic Designers Association website at: www.cdava.com
