Empty Bowls filled with generous spirit

Saturday night’s Empty Bowls event at Crescenta Valley United Methodist Church was deemed a success by event organizers. Over $6,500 was raised, with the money being divided among the food pantries Friends In Deed House, Fishes and Loaves of Glendale, and Christians Concerned for Burma.

Bowls in a variety of colors and styles were available for purchase for $15, said Crescenta Valley United Methodist Church Pastor Paige Eaves. People filled their bowls with a soup of their choice, provided by area restaurants, including Dish in La Cañada, Gourmet a Go Go in Montrose and Leo’s All Star Sports Bar & Grill in La Crescenta. A silent auction was also held.

“I think Thanksgiving and Christmas are an excellent time to be helping others,” said Christians Concerned for Burma volunteer Richard Gorsuch. “There are a lot of people far worse off than we are. Our particular problems remind us how difficult it can be.” Gorsuch added that people can help by supporting nonprofit organizations.

About 640 of the bowls were made by students at the La Cañada Community Center and Crescenta Valley High School. Crescenta Valley High School ceramics instructor Mike Flower allowed his students to create bowls both in and outside of class and over a special weekend when he opened the school’s studio to students who wanted to work.

Jeanne Lavieri opened her Wednesday night ceramics class to community members and other students in the ceramics program at the center who wanted to help by making bowls. Instead of signing up and paying tuition to take a class, students were able to attend on a night-by-night basis and pay just $5.

“We try to have people recognize the struggles of so many of the homeless and the hungry in our community,” said Fishes and Loaves of Glendale Executive Director Juan Rodriguez. “Events such as this put a spotlight on the continuing, growing need of the homeless and the hungry. It’s a problem that often is not addressed as well as it should be.”

Rodriguez hopes that lawmakers focus their attention to this problem of homelessness and hunger in the area.

“The nice thing about an event like this is that it’s not dependent on one or two donors,” said Alan Wadham, co-founder of Glendora Empty Bowls. “If everybody comes out and does just a little bit — the potters create bowls, people come and buy a bowl or two — that’s what makes something like this work.”