submitted by Brian Bushner
The Hoosick Falls Central School District is hosting ‘Empty Bowls’, an event that connects art to hunger awareness. The event is a partnership with Hoosac School and St. Mary’s Academy that brings all three schools in the Hoosick community together for a great cause. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Hoosick Area Church Association (HACA) Food Pantry. Additionally, the event will recognize all of the dedicated HACA volunteers by awarding the first ever Community Spirit Award to each of them.
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Students at all three schools have been busy making bowls for the event. The event takes place in the Hoosick Falls High School cafeteria on Saturday, April 16, 2016, from 6 to 8 pm. For a $10 donation, guests may choose from one of the hundreds of handmade bowls. The soup is free with the bowl; soup and bowls are available on a first-come, first serve basis. Tickets are only available at the door.
Ken Facin, Superintendent of Hoosick Falls Central School District said, “This is a wonderful opportunity to assist our community through our common love of art. The
District is excited to acknowledge, with our first Community Spirit Awards, the great volunteerism HACA does on a daily basis that makes our community so strong and loving.”
“Empty Bowls” is an international project to fight hunger, personalized by artists and art organizations on a community level. The project expands one group of concerned artists and students at a time, and events are held in many areas in the United States and Canada. “Empty Bowls” now supports food-related charities around the world and has raised millions of dollars to aid in the fight against hunger.
Dean Foster, Headmaster at Hoosac School, said, “Everyone here at Hoosac School is so proud and thankful to have had the opportunity to work with the students of the greater Hoosick community on such an important project. All the students involved have gained an appreciation for what it means to truly help those in need and how, when we all work together, great things can be accomplished. The success of this project transcends any common curriculum rubric and instead has given our students an introduction to one of life’s most important lessons – compassion for those in need.”
The event will also have live music from Seonaidh, a group that explores traditional Celtic music and original works using bagpipes, guitar, percussion, violin, cello, and vocals to interpret the Celtic tradition.
Megan Conner, HFCS Ceramics and Art teacher said, “I am thrilled that my art students have the opportunity to participate in such a meaningful project. Those students who are fortunate enough to have ample food in their homes might not have realized that this is a real problem in our community. I believe that by drawing attention to the issue of hunger, this project helps students in our school be more sensitive to the needs of others.”
“Empty Bowls” is an international grassroots effort to fight hunger in which artists come together to create a number of handmade bowls, and then the community joins forces to host a simple soup dinner. In exchange for a monetary donation, guests of the event are invited to choose one of the handmade bowls as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world.
Rev. Tom Zelker, Pastor at St. Mary’s Academy said, “Let’s empty our bowls so that others can be filled.”
The soup is being donated by all three schools and choices for this event are:
• Tortellini
• Minestrone
• Lemon chicken and dill
• Beef & Barley
• There will also be three additional kinds of soup: a clear broth soup, a cream based soup and a vegetarian soup
Dianne Hosterman, HACA Director, said, “I really appreciate what the kids are doing.They are drawing the community in and it’s just wonderful. Saying thank you doesn’t seem like enough! The schools in our community continue to be so supportive of what we do, and I appreciate it so much. This community is so wonderful. No matter what we need, the community is always there.”[/private]