Some of the bowls created by students for the Empty Bowls fundraiser benefiting My Brother's Kitchen.
From left, students Jessie Philpott and Hailey Rogers craft bowls for the Empty Bowls fundraiser benefiting My Brother's Table. (Courtesy MERSD)
A creative fundraiser on August 18 brought together students from Manchester Essex High School to create and ceramic bowls to donate as part of the Empty Bowls fundraiser for My Brother’s Table.
About 35 students from two ceramics classes at the high school participated in the project, crafting handmade bowls for an August 18 fundraiser at the Lynn Museum.
My Brother’s Table, located in Lynn, is the largest soup kitchen on the North Shore, and has provided more than 6.7 million hot, free meals to men, women and children in need since it was founded in 1982.
The Empty Bowls global fundraising movement was started in 1980 by a teacher who wanted to give artists and students a chance to make a difference by raising funds for soup kitchens. The concept includes artists and students crafting handmade bowls, while businesses donate soup to fill the bowls, with various charities receiving the benefits of selling the bowls.
Art teacher Tamera Burns developed the project to align with the District’s Vision of a Graduate, which aims to make students become self-aware, innovators, collaborators, and global citizens.
Students needed to learn the skills to create sturdy, usable ceramic bowls, and then worked to craft the bowls for donation.
“Our students very much enjoyed this work as they paired learning to throw bowls on a pottery wheel, while also helping others,” Burns said. “This project was an excellent way to connect learning new skills with also learning to make a positive contribution as a member of the community.”
