The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford held its 13th annual Empty Bowls and Baskets Dinner Thursday evening, with all proceeds benefiting the Friendship Table.
The event took place at the university in the Mukaiyama University Room in the Frame-Westerberg Commons, with $10 donations accepted at the door — $5 for students.
Those who attended received a meal of homemade soup and bread, and guests were invited to keep a bowl, basket or napkin set as a reminder of an ongoing fight against hunger that many face every day.
Pitt-Bradford students, faculty and staff wove baskets and painted bowls at a Stress-Free Sunday event in the Harriett B. Wick Chapel on campus. Bradford Area High School students created ceramic bowls. Third-grade students from School Street Elementary, St. Bernard’s School, as well as third- and fourth-graders from The Learning Center and Bradford Area Christian Academy, decorated placemats for the event as part of a lesson about hunger.
The American Association of University Women spent a Saturday morning sewing the napkin sets.
The snowy weather didn’t stop people from showing up to support the cause and eat warm soup, as people came flooding into the room when the doors were open.
Dr. Holly Spittler, chair of the Empty Bowls and Baskets Committee and associate dean of student affairs, said that this event is important to her because it gets the college and the community working together, and shows that there is something bigger than us out there to fight for.
“I like to tell the students that we are doing this not only to be creative, but for a bigger purpose,” said Spittler.
She said she has talked to many individuals who have stated that Empty Bowls and Baskets is one of their favorite events on campus.
For Isabelle Hunt, a student at Pitt-Bradford, this was her second year volunteering at the event.
She believes that any chance to be able to help an organization such as the Friendship Club is worth it.
“It is awesome that we get to do something like this for a place that is so important to the community,” Hunt said. “I think it is important to give back in any way that we are able to.”
This event is important to her because it brings the community together to raise money for a cause that helps so many people.
“To me, volunteering means that I am able to offer my time to help people who need it, to help something greater than myself,” Hunt said.
Volunteers throughout the community will donate more than 25 varieties of soup and cookies.
Over the past 12 years, the event has raised more than $20,000 for the Friendship Table, and last year, the event saw a record breaking year, with $2,300 raised.
