They’ve been sculpted, fired and glazed — and now these hand-crafted ceramic bowls are ready to be put to use for a good cause. On Sept. 14, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., North Hill Retirement Community (865 Central Ave.) is hosting its inaugural Empty Bowls Project. The event will benefit the Needham Community Council and Food Pantry.
North Hill residents and team members, along with members of the Needham Community Council, have created bowls that each ticket holder will take home at the end of the night.
During the event, guests will use the bowls to enjoy soups prepared by Blue on Highland, Volante Farms, the Common Room, Needham Golf Club and North Hill. They will also enjoy beer, wine, homemade bread, dessert and a live pianist.
Arielle Wilson, North Hill’s ceramicist, has been preparing for about four months to host the Empty Bowls event, a concept she pitched and brought to North Hill after seeing other organizations participate.
“The Empty Bowls Project is an international movement to support local hunger needs. And it happens all over the world,” Wilson said. “It’s the symbolism to come together for one common goal, and be able to have that bowl as a reminder forever, that someone out there potentially needs help and that you can do something even as little as going to an event like this, or creating a ceramic bowl to make a difference.”
Maureen Callahan, director of Development and Public Relations at the Needham Community Council, was pleasantly surprised and grateful to hear about the idea, and the Council has since played a key role in planning the event.
“We’ve had a good relationship with North Hill for many years,” Callahan said. “Their residents have been very generous, supporting us over the years, and then this year, they just called us to say they wanted to do this empty bowls event, and they had decided to make us the beneficiary, and the proceeds of the event would be going to us.”
Callahan said that the Empty Bowls event comes at a critical time, as many local families are struggling, especially with recent cuts to SNAP benefits. The Needham Community Council has seen a 14% increase this year in the number of visits to its food pantry.
“We’ll use that money primarily for our food pantry, to continue to keep up with demand. We now serve over 410 families in town, which is about 950 people,” Callahan said, “So it’s more people than we’ve served in the past, and we just need to make sure that we have enough food, and we’re ready, and that we can meet that demand.”
North Hill is celebrating its 42nd anniversary this year, which is why tickets are priced at $42 each — with all proceeds going directly to the Needham Community Council.
“That ticket actually helps support one family for a whole month. Like, an average family of four,” Wilson said. “If we sell all 300 tickets, we’ll be able to help support 300 families in the upcoming months, which is amazing.”
Wilson’s team has made 300 bowls in preparation for the event; triple the number of bowls that she has ever seen at an Empty Bowls Project.
“It’s been a lot of hard work. I’ve had at least 75 new residents that have never worked in clay before come down to the ceramic studio to learn how to make a bowl for this project,” Wilson said. “So it’s been such a great learning experience for everyone, and it’s … been so encouraging to see the enthusiasm the residents have.”
North Hill and the Needham Community Council are grateful for the local restaurants who are providing soup for the event.
“We are so thankful for them, too, because they are donating their time and resources to give soup for this event,” Wilson said. “So even them just making soup is going such a long way.”
There will also be a competition for the best soup that participants can vote on. The winner will receive a “Souper Bowl” trophy.
Anyone is welcome to register and attend the event. If people cannot attend the event but still want to contribute, there is an option to pick up a bowl another time or donate without receiving a bowl.
“Every bowl has gone through a minimum of three sets of hands from building to designing to firing,” Wilson said. “I want the bowls to go to homes and be able to help support the cause, to help the immediate community. I’m really excited to see it all come together.”
Register or donate at North Hill’s Empty Bowls Project.
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