A community tradition will continue as Wittenberg hosts its 21st annual Empty Bowls fundraiser for Second Harvest Food Bank Thursday, March 19. Hosted by Wittenberg’s Department of Art with Catholic Charities, Empty Bowls is scheduled for 4:30-7 p.m. in Wittenberg’s Center Dining Room (CDR), located on the second floor of the Benham-Pence Student Center.
As in the past, the price remains $15 per person. This guarantees a handcrafted bowl and dinner, which includes a humble meal of soup and bread. The total fundraising goal for this year’s event is $45,000, an attainable goal after last year’s event raised more than $45,500.
“This is truly a community event that brings in many people from Springfield and is a major fundraising event for Second Harvest Food Bank,” says Professor of Art and Department Chair Scott Dooley. “We have been able to grow this project by leaps and bounds even through the tough economic climate of the last several years.”
Second Harvest Food Bank is a non-profit organization that collects and provides food supplies to more than one hundred local feeding programs in the surrounding Clark, Champaign, and Logan counties. Each bowl purchased will provide 60 meals for those who are coping with food insecurity.
This event would not be possible without support from event sponsors, including Dr. Dana and Judy King of Northside Veterinarian Clinic, Madison Avenue Pharmacy, Wallace and Turner Inc., Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church, Essex of Springfield, Villa Springfield Health and Rehabilitation Center, and Build A Better Wittenberg–Student Senate
VIP Sponsors include Betsy and James Dean, Don Johnson, State Representative Kyle Kohler, The Kroger Company, Kim and Jerilyn Weber, Speedway LLC, Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, and Thirty-One Gifts.
Additional sponsorships will be accepted through March 12. Please contact Scott Dooley at sdooley@wittenberg.edu.
Soup sponsors include Sodexo, Bob Evans, Cecil & Lime, Los Mariachis, Essex of Springfield, Seasons Bistro, Mela’s Urban Bistro, Buckeye Sports Lodge, Linardo’s Villa, Mic’s Italian Restaurant, Jaguar Room, and Coppertop, and bread sponsors include Texas Roadhouse and O’Charley’s.
The 2014-15 Empty Bowls student coordinator is art major Christine Steinhaus, class of 2015 from Upper Arlington, Ohio.
T-shirts designed by Hannah Fournier, class of 2014 from Dayton, Ohio, will be available for purchase and an artwork raffle will take place. After being washed by a volunteer, each bowl will be able to be taken home, serving as a reminder that every night someone’s bowl is empty and many people go hungry each day in this country.
Approximately 1000 bowls have been created for the fundraising event by students, faculty, staff and community members. Many years the bowls sell out, and if this happens, patrons may enjoy a meal at a reduced price using disposable bowls.
Rainbow Table 1 soup kitchen will share any leftover food items from the event the next day.
Free parking is available in the lots behind Krieg Hall and the Benham-Pence Student Center, which both have entrances off West Ward Street.
