When it comes to the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser, where there’s a wheel, there’s a way for potter Jaye Lahee to happily help.
The retired art teacher, a longtime supporter of the event for area food pantries, recently donated 45 handmade bowls for the 5:30 p.m. gathering at Central Middle School, 725 Seventh St. in downtown Columbus. It’s his way of being hungry to help the less fortunate.
And keep in mind that, two years ago, besides his container creations, he also was among volunteers making soup for the community meal. But he laughed when asked to compare his kitchen skills to his studio prowess.
“Oh, gosh,” he said. “I used to be able to make a pretty good chili with a turkey base.”
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The 67-year-old Lahee is among a team of behind-the-scenes volunteers making sure that Empty Bowls — an event that initially was canceled in the fall because selfless, longtime organizers were moving toward other projects — still pours on the success.
Though he will be pursuing his art and walking the beaches in St. Petersburg, Florida this weekend instead of attending the event, he always has had a warm spot for outreaches to the needy.
“You don’t have to look very far locally to find them,” Lahee said of struggling residents. “And that sometimes has included students, too.”
Organizers — cooks of soups, chilis, breads, and desserts, artists making homemade bowls, a small army of behind-the-scenes volunteers, students, musicians and others — make the event happen. Last year’s gathering raised more than $18,000 for pantries at Love Chapel, Horizon House homeless shelter, Community Center of Hope, Turning Point Domestic Violence Services, and Thrive Alliance.
Through the years, Empty Bowls has raised more than $200,000, according to organizers. Local artist Robert Pulley launched the event, a spinoff of a national push to fight hunger, via the Columbus Peace Fellowship. Some years, such as in 2011, more than 1,000 people have attended.
Denise Engel, a member of this year’s organizing committee that has worked feverishly since December to both save and bolster the fundraiser, mentioned that ticket sales have picked up recently. She hopes to see a crowd larger than last year’s 300 plus attendees.
“But I know a lot of people still wait ‘til the last minute (to buy),” Engel said.
Lahee figures he spent some 30 hours on the bowls in the studio behind his home. But he recently wondered if organizers could sell bowls online, which he sees as a promising idea to boost the cause.
“So maybe I could make 100 bowls next year,” he said.
Sculptor and potter Robert Pulley, who helped launch Empty Bowls, is finishing 30 bowls to donate to the supper.
“I’m just glad that they found somebody to keep this going,” Pulley said. “Making the bowls is an easy thing for me to do. And I think that when you have the ability to give back to the community, that’s just what you do.”
Plus, people such as Lahee still love the creative process, no matter what specifically spurs it.
“If there’s a heaven and I make it there,” Lahee said, “I’ve decided I still want to be a potter.”
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What: Empty Bowls, an event featuring soups, chilis, desserts and the like with the opportunity to purchase a meal in a hand-crafted bowl. The event also includes entertainment from local band Black Tie Optional
When: 5:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Central Middle School, 725 Seventh St. in Columbus
Why: To raise money and awareness for area food pantries
Tickets: $3 for youngsters 12 and under; $12 for all-you-can-eat soups; $25 for all-you-can-eat soup and hand-crafted artisan bowl, all available at the Facebook page for Empty Bowls-Columbus Indiana.
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