Helping Others in Need
McKendree University’s annual Empty Bowls benefit lunch filled students with delicious
homemade soup and a greater awareness of those in need.
The fundraiser, part of McKendree’s annual Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, is a tradition on campus the week before Thanksgiving. The Empty Bowls lunch was
held on Wednesday, November 19. A $5 donation served up a bowl of homemade soup with
bread.
Another $5 donation allowed patrons to take home a handcrafted ceramic bowl. At a
“Bowl-a-thon” on October 3, the Art Club set up potter’s wheels outside on the quad,
where experienced artists showed students how to shape wet clay into soup bowls.
Proceeds benefited the Hope House in Highland, Ill. During lunch a staff member from
the Hoyleton Youth and Family Services spoke about the nonprofit organization, which
provides long-term housing and services to young adults with developmental disabilities.
“I hope the campus community that attended Empty Bowls gained an appreciation of what
they have had growing up and where they have come from,” said Ali Wharton, a McKendree junior who coordinated the event.
“Since the Empty Bowls speaker was from an organization where we are doing a Service
Saturday, I would love to see people gain an inspiration to volunteer on November
22.”
“Empty Bowls” was one of several activities hosted by McKendree’s Lyn Huxford Center
for Community Service and Campus Ministries during nationwide National Hunger and
Homelessness Awareness Week on November 13-22. Other events included a Hunger Banquet,
canned goods sculpture contest, faculty fashion show and sleep out on the quad.
Learn more about McKendree University, Campus Ministries, and the Center for Community Service.
