PROGRAMS > EMPTY BOWLS

Empty Bowls 2009 took place on Sunday May 3rd !

Much like hunger and homelessness, the fate of our planet is a key issue for our society. The YVC Steering Committee chose a green, eco-friendly theme for this year’s event. The event, which was held at Fort Calgary this year included a modest meal of soup and bread with some ingredients donated by local merchants. There were heartwarming talks by the recipient agency as well as other wonderful speakers. All of the hand made ceramic bowls were inspired by the beauty of mother nature.

Approximately $1891 was donated to this year's recipients, Yahoo Youth Housing, a program through the Canadian Red Cross that aims to help homeless and at risk youth with housing and basic needs.

A big thank you to all of the dedicated volunteers that spent countless hours on making this year's event a success!

Please contact the Youth Volunteer Corps Coordinator if you would like more information in regards to how you can get involved with next year's event!

Empty Bowls

Empty Bowls is a project that calls the entire Calgary community to action, allowing children, youth, and adults to get involved and become aware of youth homelessness in the City of Calgary. Volunteers of all ages spend three months creating and decorating beautiful ceramic bowls at the Wildflower Arts Centre. Then in May, the project concludes with a fundraising event where members of the community purchase tickets to a mock-soup kitchen; at the end of the evening, guests take home their bowl as a reminder of youth that go hungry in our city. Each year, the YVC Steering Committee chooses a different youth organization to receive the proceeds from Empty Bowls.

• Empty Bowls 1998 – Alberta Youth in Care and Custody Network
• Empty Bowls 1999 – The Back Door
• Empty Bowls 2000 – Alberta Safe House
• Empty Bowls 2001 – EXIT Community Outreach
• Empty Bowls 2002 – Avenue 15
• Empty Bowls 2003 – Street Teams/Safe House
• Empty Bowls 2004 – EXIT Community Outreach
• Empty Bowls 2005 - YWCA Safe Haven
• Empty Bowls 2006 - Boys and Girls Club of Calgary - Avenue 15 and Side Door
• Empty Bowls 2007 - Brown Bagging for Calgary's Kids
• Empty Bowls 2008 - John Howard Society - Raido House
• Empty Bowls 2009 - Yahoo Youth Housing

Story of Empty Bowls:

There is a story about a man who left this earth and was taken on a tour of the inner realms.  He was shown a room where he saw a large group of hungry people trying to eat dinner, but because the spoons that they were trying to eat with were longer than their arms, they remained frustrated.  “This,” his guide told him, “is hell.”  “That’s terrible!” exclaimed the man; “Please show me heaven!”  “Very well,” agreed the guide, and on they went.  When they opened Heaven’s door, the man was perplexed to see what looked very much like the same scene: there was a group of people with spoons longer than their arms.  As he looked more closely, however, he saw happy faces and full tummies, for there was one important difference: the people in Heaven had learned to feed each other.

- The Dragon Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, by Allan Cohen