Art Department to fill 'empty bowls' this holiday season
Date: 11/19/2012
By Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.comLONGMEADOW — As the community enters the holiday season, students in the Longmeadow High School Art Department are hosting an event to raise money for those in need and to remind the fortunate that there will be many empty bowls throughout the upcoming year.
Art Department Chair Deborah Callahan, along with students from her sculpture and 3D design classes will host an Empty Bowl Project dinner in the high school cafeteria on Nov. 29 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Those who attend the dinner will receive a meal of soup and bread in a bowl handmade by students in those classes, which can then be taken home as a reminder of the need that remains year round.
It is not the first time Longmeadow High School has hosted such an event. While the idea of the Empty Bowl Project is nothing new, Callahan said it sends an important message to students and the community alike.
"Empty Bowls is a longstanding national project. We had a dinner four years ago that another teacher, who is no longer with us, organized," Callahan said. "Since she left, I have taken over her sculpture and ceramics classes and I thought this would be a good thing to resurrect.
"As a teacher of the arts, I wanted to make the work that the kids are doing more real by making it a part of something that could help people," she added.
Those who attend the dinner will be asked for a $15 donation, which will go to Open Pantry Community Services' Holiday Meal Program, which, according to its website, "provides a traditional holiday meal for anyone in need of a meal or for those who wish to spend Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter with others."
Holiday meals from the Open Pantry are served at the Springfield High School of Commerce on State Street and are also delivered to homebound citizens of the Pioneer Valley.
Callahan said that her involvement with the Open Pantry through her church, St. Peter's Lutheran in Holyoke, made it an easy choice when trying to determine where the money raised should go.
"I work on an outreach committee at my church, so I was very aware of the Open Pantry's need. The Open Pantry almost closed and it still has a huge burden. As quickly as the food goes in, it's going right back out," she said. "When I contacted them about offering money or to use the money to buy food for their shelves, they said they really would appreciate the help with the Holiday Meal Program."
Longmeadow High School's Art Department has also conducted events in the past featuring student work, such as a mug sale, which raised $600 for the Red Campaign, which helps battle AIDS in Africa.
In addition to helping a worthy causes, Callahan said efforts like these act as a unique opportunity for students to showcase their work.
"It will also highlight what the students are doing in their classes," she said. "It's like an art show, except we've tried to look outward as well."
