John Cooper School students make bowls to feed the hungry
Students, parents and faculty at the John Cooper School are banding together to give back to those less fortunate.
Members of the school community have been gathering at its arts and ceramics facilities to create bowls for the school’s 11th annual Empty Bowls Project fundraiser, which has raised more than $65,000 for local organizations that relieve hunger.
Proceeds from the event, set from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at John Cooper School, One John Cooper Drive in The Woodlands, are expected to go to Interfaith of The Woodlands’ food pantry, which provides perishable and nonperishable food, personal hygiene items and infant products among other basic assistance to el- igible south Montgomery County families in need.
“Many people don’t realize it, but Interfaith of The Woodlands is such a central part of The Woodlands,” said Laura Meyer, a senior at the John Cooper School who’s overseeing the fundraiser as the service chair of the school’s chapter of the National Art Honor Society.
The John Cooper School community is preparing hundreds of bowls in advance of the Empty Bowls Project fundraiser on Saturday.
Each attendee will receive a handmade ceramic bowl to keep as well as a simple lunch of soup and bread. In addition, the school will auction a variety of other bowl-related art, including watercolor paintings and photographs of bowls, 3-Dprinted bowls and more ornately de- signed bowls.
“You feel like you’re doing something. You’re not just writing a check. By making these bowls, you’re hoping to fill bowls,” said Lourdes Flanagan, a John Cooper parent and member of the school’s Fine Arts Council. Her family owns several handmade bowls, which they purchased from the fundraiser.
The Empty Bowls Proj- ect is more than just a way to raise money.
Many of the bowls created by the John Cooper School community find their way into homes out of the city or even out of state, spreading the message of civic responsibility and the school’s philanthropy though unique works of art.