Wittenberg University

Wittenberg To Host Annual Empty Bowls Dinner
To Benefit Second Harvest Food Bank On April 6

Elliott Nguyen throws bowls in Koch Hall.

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Throwing and glazing bowls has become a tradition for Wittenberg University art students as they spend weeks each year producing the main ingredient for the annual Empty Bowls dinner, which raises money to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank.

Six hundred soup bowls have been crafted in preparation for the annual charity fundraiser, which is scheduled for 4-8 p.m. Thursday, April 6, in room 105 of Wittenberg’s Joseph C. Shouvlin Center for Lifelong Learning .

The event offers all-you-can-eat soups and breads for a $10 donation, and the beautiful handcrafted keepsake bowls are included in this donation. Volunteers will wash the bowls, and patrons will take them home as reminders that many people in the community go hungry each day.

Empty Bowls organizer Scott Dooley, assistant professor of art, and Elliott Nguyen, class of 2006 from West Chester, Ohio, student organizer for this year’s event, have been overwhelmed with the response from the community.

“We’ve had tremendous success,” Nguyen said. “Approximately 50 students, faculty, staff and alumni have helped on throwing days. We’ve used new glaze combinations on the bowls and are really pleased with them.”

Nguyen also expressed gratitude for the donations they have received from Beta Theta Pi and Delta Tau Delta fraternities and Build a Better Wittenberg, and he added that 20 to 30 students have volunteered to assist during the dinner.

As many as 50 students, faculty, staff and alumni helped on throwing days, according to Empty Bowls organizers.

Entertainment will be provided by IMANI Gospel Choir and Just Eve, Wittenberg’s women’s a cappella group. Clint Davis, class of 2006 from Lebanon, Ohio, Sam McCabe, class of 2006 from Greenville, Ohio, and Carly Kuhn, soprano, class of 2006 from Lakewood, Ohio, will also perform.

The menu will be prepared by Sodexho and will include chicken bow-tie soup, potato leek soup, garden vegetable soup, dinner rolls, tossed salad and assorted cookies and beverages.

Empty Bowls T-shirts will be available again this year for $12.

Sponsors for this year's event include Madison Avenue Pharmacy, Perkins Family Restaurant, Little & Rue Funeral Home, Fifth Third Bank and Beta Theta Pi Fraternity.

Wittenberg ’s Empty Bowls, part of a national project that helps organizations fight hunger, raised a record $5,650 in 2005 for Second Harvest Food Bank, which serves Clark, Logan and Champaign counties. Second Harvest is one of 200 agencies nationwide that provides needy individuals with bulk food donations.

Free parking is available behind Krieg Hall on Ward Street as well as in the Benham-Pence Student Center lot. For more information, contact Dooley at (937) 327-6327.

- Phyllis Eberts

041-06

Contact: Ryan Maurer (937) 327-6114 Send a Message

Additional Headlines: • Book-Delivering Prof Named Ohio Professor of the Year • Senior Class Selects Livestrong President & CEO Doug Ulman As 2011 Commencement Speaker •Communication Program Honored Nationally With Top Award • Wittenberg University Art Students Finalists For Scholarship Award