Fighting hunger one bowl at a time
Greater Johnstown School District students, faculty and staff and area artists shaped clay and decorated more than 500 ceramic dishes, all to help in the fight against hunger. And that's admirable.
Now in its 14th year, the school's Key Club's annual Empty Bowls dinner has raised more than $50,000 for local nonprofits to address food insecurity.
Attendees choose handcrafted bowls, and then receive a small meal of soup and a side of bread. The fundraiser supports the Cambria County Backpack Project, the Women's Help Center Inc. and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Art teacher and Key Club co-adviser Cindy Maloy told our Kelly Urban that 'we pick these three (nonprofits) because they are so instrumental in serving our families and our community and homelessness and hunger.'
Empty Bowls was started by a Michigan art teacher in 1990 as a way to raise awareness of food insecurity and to allow artists and students to make a difference. Spinoff fundraisers have sprouted since, including at Greater Johnstown, with proceeds going back to the community.
A new addition to this year's fundraiser was a Soup 'R Bowl event at Made in Johnstown. Twenty talented artists competed against each other – and the clock – to create 352 bowls in almost three hours with 400 pounds of clay donated by Made in Johnstown.
Maloy said Empty Bowls is a project that students want to experience.
She said, 'Our students have big hearts and they want to give back to the community and make an impact, and this gets them involved and shows that they can do big things.'
This annual fundraiser helps our community fight hunger one bowl at a time.
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