HAYC3, HOOSICK FALLS HIGH SCHOOL, AND ST. MARY’S ACADEMY WORK TOGETHER TO RAISE FUNDS FOR LOCAL HACA FOOD PANTRY

HAYC3 partners with many groups in the Hoosick for the benefit of many community causes, and we are particularly proud to co-sponsor with Hoosick Falls High School and St. Mary’s Academy to present The Empty Bowls Event on Friday, March 14 from 6:00-8:00pm in The Owls Nest at The Armory in Hoosick Falls. All of the proceeds from Empty Bowls will be donated directly to the HACA Food Pantry.

“Working with Meg Conner (the ceramics teacher at HFHS) who initiated and led the High School’s efforts to create the 170 ceramic bowls that will be ‘for sale’ at the Empty Bowls event has been great. It’s no easy task to create that many bowls, and it has taken months, but she’s managed to inspire the kids and get it done. And the bowls are beautiful,” said a HAYC3 staff member who worked on the project.

HAYC3 coordinated the moving parts of the event, including organizing the details of how the event will look and how it will work successfully, donating the spaces for the art, music, and food, coordinating the serving and clean-up, “connecting the dots” between HFCS, SMA, HACA and others community groups, restaurants and individuals who have also graciously offered to donate pots of soup, and providing publicity. HAYC3 staff and volunteers are happy to work with the various groups for this important cause.

"Obviously, the local food pantry needs all the funding it can get to be able to buy food to give to people in need. The event will also help raise people’s awareness about hunger both locally and globally," said Aelish Nealon, HAYC3 Executive Director. “And we love the idea of using art to make a difference in the community,” she added.

St. Mary’s Academy has been in on the project from the beginning as well. Middle School students will be making soup under the guidance of Lisa Adrion, SMA’s Lunch Program Manager and chef extraordinaire.

“It’s really nice to see that young people care about a cause and are willing to put some work into helping others in the community. This project hits on two of HAYC3’s major goals as an organization: helping the community whenever needed, and providing our kids with positive, meaningful, enjoyable things to do,” said Amanda Haar, HAYC3 volunteer and former Community Coalition chair.

The largest hunger-relief organization in the United States, Feeding America, reports that the nation’s food banks could soon be overwhelmed by demand. Statistics show that 1 out of 8 Americans struggle with food insecurity every day. Millions of people have lost their jobs during the most recent recession.

“Recent cutbacks on food stamps puts extra stress on families as they struggle to make ends meet, particularly when there’s a long and especially cold winter like we’ve had this year,” explained Dianne Hosterman, HACA Director.

Referring specifically to the upcoming Empty Bowls event at The Armory, she said “I am always so impressed by the caring that people in Hoosick have for others in their community who are in need. Their compassion in times of difficulty, the way they pull together to help others when there’s a trauma or tragedy, or in this case to help feed the hungry, is quite moving.”

For $10.00, event attendees can choose a bowl and have it filled with soup, with a side of bread. After your bowl is emptied, student volunteers will wash it and you can take it home as a reminder that there are empty bowls all over the world.

In conjunction with the Empty Bowls event, there will also be an exhibition of student artwork in 120gallery90 from 6:00 to 8:00pm and HFCS Jazz band performance at the Owls Nest from 6:30-7:30pm. Both are free of charge. Empty Bowls, the Art exhibit and the Jazz Band concert are open to the public.

If you have any questions about this Empty Bowls event, or for more information, contact HAYC3. Call 518-686-9050 or email contacthayc3@gmail.com, or visit our website at http://hayc3.org.