Soup is more than a meal at the annual Empty Bowls Charity Dinner to be held on the campus of Virginia Wesleyan, March 11, 2011
By Leona Baker | March 7, 2011
Empty Bowls Charity Dinner
When: Friday, March 11, 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Tickets: $20 in advance/$25 at the door
Info: Contact Diane Hotaling at 757.455.3216, dhotaling@vwu.edu
Patrons of the 13th Empty Bowls Charity Dinner will warm their bellies with freshly prepared crab soup, corn chowder, turkey chili and vegetarian minestrone, along with bread and dessert. Better yet, they’ll leave knowing that they have done their small part to help alleviate hunger in our community.
This popular annual event, to be held Friday, March 11, on the campus of Virginia Wesleyan College, has become a Hampton Roads tradition. Sponsored by the Ceramic Designers Association, the Empty Bowls fundraiser benefits various local charities that provide nourishment for those in need, including the Help & Emergency Response Shelter (H.E.R.), Oasis Social Ministry, the Judeo Christian Outreach Center, the Union Mission and the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia.
For a $20 ticket, each guest enjoys a modest soup meal and is allowed to take home a handcrafted bowl donated by a local artist. Extra bowls are available for purchase. This year there will be more than 1,000 bowls to choose from. Live entertainment and a silent auction are part of the evening, and Virginia Wesleyan art professor Philip Guilfoyle is among artists who will do potter’s wheel demonstrations at the event.
Sodexo, the company that provides food services for Virginia Wesleyan College, generously donates almost all of the ingredients for the soups served at the Empty Bowls Dinner. The company’s charitable arm, the Sodexo Foundation, is “committed to being a driving and creative force that contributes to a hunger-free nation.”
“This event fits nicely with Sodexo Stop Hunger initiatives,” says Tim Lockett, VWC’s General Manager of Dining Services, “while contributing to the College's community service efforts.”
In addition to this annual event, Dining Services partners with the VWC Office of Community Service throughout the year to support the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia' s Kid's Cafe program. Staff and student volunteers work every other Wednesday evening for “Cooking for Kids.” They prepare meals to be used in after school feeding programs. Each year, about 20,000 such meals are prepared on the Wesleyan campus. Dining Services also helps with the annual Winter Homeless Shelter on campus by cooking donated food each night of the shelter.
The fundraising goal for this year’s Empty Bowls event, which was recently featured on WVEC 13 News, is $20,000. Come out and fill your own bowl while feeding your soul. Tickets are for sale at the VWC College Bookstore between 9 and 4 p.m. daily.
Tickets can also be purchased at the following locations: Oasis Café (1348 N. Great Neck Rd., Virginia Beach, 757.351.6672); Riverview Gallery (1 High St., Portsmouth, 757.397.3207); Harbor Gallery (1508 Colley Ave., Norfolk, 757.627.2787); Fast Frame (717 Eden Way North #614, Chesapeake 757.609.3618); and The Artists Gallery (608 Norfolk Ave., Virginia Beach).