Mather Students Partner with NEIU on Empty Bowl Project

Mather students and teachers gathered at the Fine Arts Building at Northeastern Illinois University on Friday evening to participate in the Empty Bowls Project.

According to the Empty Bowls website (http://www.emptybowls.net/): "Empty Bowls is an international grassroots effort to fight hunger and was created by The Imagine Render Group. The basic premise is simple: Potters and...craftspeople, educators and others work with the community to create handcrafted bowls. Guests are 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 an organization working to end hunger and food insecurity.

It is the collective genius of all the people involved that has made Empty Bowls what it has become. Events have now taken place across the United States and in at least a dozen other countries. Many millions of dollars have been raised and donated to hunger-fighting organizations....."

Northeastern Illinois University made its pottery room available for Mather students and teachers to create the bowls. Students spent 5-6 hours at the university creating bowls for a community event to take place on May 04, 2012. At the Empty Bowls event, Mather staff, community members, students, and families, will gather to share a simple meal and learn more about food insecurity issues in the Chicago and around the country. All proceeds from the dinner will be donated to the Lakeview Food Pantry, an organization working to provide emergency food aid to individuals and families.

Jennifer Brown, an art teacher at Mather who organized the project, received some start-up funding through Donors Choose, an online opportunity for teachers to raise funds for special projects. Ms. Brown was assisted by other Mather faculty at the event.

We already look forward to the Empty Bowls dinner at Mather on May 04, 2012.