Helping Good Causes One Bowl at a Time

Maeve Bowling heard a lot about Empty Bowls from friends.

But after joining the Wheel-Throwing Club in her freshman year at Oak Park and River Forest High School and helping out during her freshman year, she became a big backer of one of the school’s most important charity efforts.

“This is all about making an impact,” said Bowling, a sophomore from Oak Park, an avid potter.

The larger cause is a series of daunting challenges: helping end hunger and poverty locally and fighting AIDS in Africa.

And Bowling and her peers are attempting to do that one bowl at a time.

This year’s event is 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22 in the South Cafeteria at Oak Park and River Forest High School, 201 Scoville Ave.

Here’s how it works. For $15 for adults and $10 for students with an ID, participants get to pick out a pottery handmade pottery bowl. You fill the bowl with your choice of soup, made by the Food Service class and donated by local restaurants; bread and water round out the meal. Participants get to keep the bowl.

Proceeds from the event are split evenly among the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry, West Suburban PADS, and Global Alliance for Africa. Last year the event raised around $11,000.

There’s a great spirit of community in the cafeteria where the event is held. Instead of an entrance ticket, for instance, folks get nametag, to encourage interaction and conversation.

The conversation sometimes turns to the bowls that people have selected. Picking that special bowl is a big deal. Bowling said she and her classmates have been working since fall creating bowls that are as unique as possible.

Faculty, professional potters and alumni even help out. Bowling estimates that about 1,000 will be available to choose from.

Everyone helps each other out. It makes this experience fun, she said.

And a lot of hard work goes into making this effort a reality, she said. It’s a good opportunity to try new shapes, techniques and forms, and create something that has a bit of individuality thrown in. Some bowls, she said, rival those sold in boutique art shops.

“Folks take them home and appreciate them,” she said. “We all (in the club) know we are donating our talents to a larger cause. And that's rewarding.”

Maeve Bowling had heard a lot about Empty Bowls from friends.

But after joining the Wheel-Throwing Club in her freshman year at Oak Park and River Forest High School her freshman year, she became not only an even more avid potter but a big backer of one of the school’s most important charity efforts.

“This is all about making an impact,” said Bowling, a sophomore from Oak Park. “We all (in the cluib) think about what we are doing and how we are donating to a larger cause.”

The larger cause is a series of daunting challenges: helping end hunger and poverty locally and fighting AIDS in Africa.

And Bowling and her peers are attempting to do that one bowl at a time.

This year’s event is 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22 in the South Cafeteria at the high school.

Here’s how it works. For $15 for adults and $10 for students with an ID, participants get to pick out a pottery handmade pottery bowl. You fill the bowl with your choice of soup, made by the Food Service class and donated by local restaurants; bread and water round out the meal. You get to keep your bowl, and the proceeds from the event are split evenly among the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry, PADS, and Global Alliance for Africa. Last year the event raised around $11,000.

There’s a great spirit of community in the cafeteria where the event is held. Instead of an entrance ticket, for instance, you'll receive a nametag, to encourage interaction and conversation.

Picking that special bowl is a big deal. And Bowling said she and her classmates have been working since fall creating bowls that are as unique as possible. Faculty, professional potters and alumni even help out. Bowling estimates that about 1,000 will be available to choose from.

Everyone helps each other out. It makes this experience fun, she said.

And a lot of hard work goes into making this effort a reality, she said. It’s a good opportunity to try new shapes, techniques and forms, and create something that has a bit of individuality thrown in. Some bowls, she said, rival those sold in boutique art shops.

“Folks take them home and appreciate them,” she said. “It’s all toward a good cause.”