On Tuesday, March 20, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School hosted their annual Empty Bowls event. Modeled after the international grassroots effort of the same name, the Empty Bowls lunch raises money for the hungry. Participants pay $5 for a meager meal of soup, bread, and water. They also receive a handmade ceramic bowl to keep as a reminder of all the empty bowls around the world. Proceeds from the event go to Our Lady’s Pantry, OLSH’s on-campus food pantry that serves the Coraopolis community.

OLSH art teacher and alumna, Mallory Hurley, has been organizing this event, which was brought to the school by her predecessor, Mrs. Christine Stubna, since she joined the faculty 6 years ago. She and the 35 students in the Empty Bowls activity made approximately 100 bowls this year, which were distributed at the luncheon. In each bowl is a piece of paper with a quote from St. Teresa of Calcutta: “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”

Serving the underprivileged is part of the mission of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School and their founders, the Felician Sisters. This event is just one of the ways the community lives out the Felician Core Value of Solidarity with the Poor.

“The Empty Bowls event is a great visual reminder that there are real families in our community who are in need,” said Mrs. Hurley. “Students begin the year creating humble little pinch pots. Each bowl is unique, and creating them allows students to learn in action through the creative process. Once bowls have been made, we begin to plan the event, allowing students who created handmade bowls to now serve in another way at the luncheon... Students are able to see how we CAN serve our community one handmade bowl at a time!”