Multi-colored ceramic bowls are offered to attendees at the Empty Bowls fundraiser.
Eighth annual Empty Bowls fundraiser to be held April 3
March 22, 2024 – Potters at CMC Rifle are busy making bowls for the eighth annual Empty Bowls, which has become a well-loved, local fundraiser. The Grand River Hospital District Volunteer Association will host the lunchtime Empty Bowls event on April 3, with all proceeds directly benefiting Grand River Meals on Wheels of Western Garfield County.
At the lunch, attendees first select a hand-crafted ceramic bowl, which is then theirs to keep, and fill it with a choice of soups for lunch. A silent auction of art items will also be held at the event. Since 1976, Grand River Health has operated Meals on Wheels, serving meals to homebound older adults and recovering patients. The client base has increased by 40% since 2020 when Meals on Wheels delivered throughout the pandemic. Empty Bowls will help to pay for this ever-increasing need
Empty Bowls is a grassroots movement by artists and craftspeople in cities and towns around the world to raise money for food-related charities. Rifle’s Empty Bowls began in 2015, when Michelle McCurdy, a ceramics instructor at CMC Rifle, and Kaaren Peck, director of volunteer services and Meals on Wheels at Grand River Health, put their passions together.
McCurdy’s expertise in ceramics Peck’s dedication to feeding the homebound has continued to bring awareness and funding to Grand River Health’s Meals on Wheels. Colorado Mountain College pottery students and faculty donate their hand-hewn bowls, and Grand River Café and Grand River Care Center make the soups. In addition to Grand River Hospital District Volunteer Association, Grand River Health Café, Care Center and Gift Shop, sponsors include FCI Construction, Phil Long Subaru, Davis Partnership Architects and Alpine Bank.
Empty Bowls will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Grand River Health Ballroom, 501 Airport Road, Rifle. Tickets are $25, which includes a bowl and soup, and may be purchased the day of the event or bought prior to the event at Grand River Health Café, Grand River Health Gift Shop or through Eventbrite. For more information, call 970-625-6215.