Oakton’s Empty Bowls raises funds for food pantries

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This Thanksgiving, as you reach for that third helping of turkey, remember: someone's bowl is always empty. Make a difference in the fight against hunger — and get ahead on your holiday shopping — at Oakton's ninth annual Empty Bowls fundraiser from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, at the college's Des Plaines campus, 1600 E. Golf Road. The event features hundreds of unique ceramic bowls donated by professional and student potters from throughout the Chicago area.

For a donation of $14, participants select a distinctive handcrafted bowl that is theirs to keep, and receive a simple meal of soup and bread as a reminder that "someone's bowl is always empty." The event includes a raffle drawing for ceramic art work and a silent auction for select pieces of sculpture and jewelry. All proceeds benefit local food charities.

Sponsored by the Ceramics Club at Oakton, Empty Bowls is a nonprofit, global movement that has raised millions of dollars for food banks, soup kitchens and other meal programs. Since 2004, this event at Oakton has sold almost 10,000 bowls and raised more than $125,000 for local food pantries.

Entertainment will be provided by Patchouli (www.patchouli.net), an acoustic duo whose songs about harmony and healing inspire the human spirit.

For information, contact emptybowls@oakton.edu, or call (847) 635-1699.