This year’s 9th annual Barnabas Center Empty Bowls luncheon event will be held on Friday, Nov. 18, noon – 1:00 p.m. at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. The event will raise funds to help individuals and families in our area who are experiencing hunger.
The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island has hauled tables, chairs, linens, silverware, and their delicious soups to the luncheon, to different venues across the city since the event’s inception. Based on previous year’s successes, they have offered an even bigger venue that will seat 700+ guests – The Ritz-Carlton.
The Empty Bowls fundraiser is a symbolic reminder of the many “bowls” in our community that need to be filled for people who struggle with hunger or food insecurity. Each guest will select a hand painted bowl to commemorate their attendance and to serve as a reminder of hunger in our community. In preparation for the event, hundreds of community members have already come together and painted hundreds of bowls while attending paint parties at the Amelia Makery, a generous major sponsor of the event. Barnabas has the challenge of painting over 1,000 bowls this year in preparation for this event and the online bowl auction.
Beginning October, you can shop online for locally handcrafted gifts that support a good cause and bring extra joy to both the giver and recipient. Artisan bowls can be found on https://www.biddingowl.com/BarnabasCenter featuring many hand-painted bowls by Nassau County artists and residents who donated their time and talent.
Pam Fox, Empty Bowls Event Chair, said “I am proud of the community coming together to support those who need us the most, our neighbors. Barnabas concentrates on delivering hope and the Empty Bowls event allows us to do just that. This year’s event committee has a huge goal of surpassing last year’s record-breaking event, and I believe we will! I cannot thank the group of volunteers, sponsors, and artists who support us enough. All of this has been made possible by our event host, The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island and our transportation sponsor, Omni Resorts Amelia Island who are coming together to make this event a special one, one of collaboration.”
For more information, please visit www.barnabasnassau.org/events/empty-bowls.