Empty Bowls help fill fundraising goals

WEBUTUCK — Students with the North East Community Center’s (NECC) Healthy Empowered Youth (HEY) helped with the 11th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser  in the Webutuck school district on Tuesday, March 26.

Originally devised by former Webutuck teacher John Roccanova and his wife, Jean, also a teacher, Empty Bowls is an annual tradition between NECC and Webutuck. While the Roccanovas have since retired from the school district, NECC has carried on with the help of HEY students, all seventh- and eighth-graders.

Each year, HEY students partner with local artist Diane Schapira to craft and glaze handmade bowls to sell for the fundraiser, in Schapira’s studio in Lakeville, Conn. This year’s fundraiser also featured bowls created by Schapira and local sculptor Paul Chaleff.

“I really enjoy the time I spend with the students,” Schapira said. “They are very creative with what we do and it’s fun. I’m really happy to get a chance to be part of the Empty Bowls project and I’m looking forward to being part of it for many years.”

Students made homemade soup at NECC on Monday, March 25, using fresh organic ingredients from the Millerton Fresh Market and from NECC Junior High After-School Assistant Mark Stonehill’s farm, Full Circus Farm, in Pine Plains. They served the soup on Tuesday, March 26, to Webutuck teachers, staff and students who could visit Webutuck Elementary School and Eugene Brooks Intermediate School where they could enjoy homemade tomato soup and vegan sweet potato soup for lunch. The bowls were made available for purchase with prices ranging from $2 to $10.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit Sunrise Movement, a movement of young people committed to stopping climate change and creating green jobs. The proceeds will also benefit the Vera Institute in facilitating a better justice system. Out of a long list of organizations, HEY Coordinator Alyson Halpert said the HEY students chose this year’s recipients. By the end of the week, she reported they had raised about $350.

“I think that what’s great about the fundraiser is that it gives students a chance to feel empowered to make positive change… so we’re trying to figure out what they care about and help them with what they want to change in the world,” Halpert said. “I think it’s also really amazing because it’s a fundraiser about art and food and it really brings people together. Everybody loves a hot bowl of soup in March.”