BROWNWOOD—Good Samaritan Ministries served guests at its recent Empty Bowls event a simple meal of soup, bread and water to portray the theme: “Live simply, so others can simply live.”
The event drew 387 participants and raised $5,826 to fight hunger. Ninety percent of the proceeds will meet needs in the Brownwood area, and 10 percent will be donated to Heifer International.
“I am truly thrilled and overwhelmed by people’s generosity,” said Gary Gramling, Good Samaritan board member and coordinator of the event. “We had no idea what to expect with this being our first year, but we had a tremendous turnout. I hope to see this continue as a tradition in Brownwood.”
|
The Empty Bowls event sponsored by Good Samaritan Ministries in Brownwood attracted 387 participants and raised $5,826 to fight hunger. (PHOTO/Kalie Lowrie/Howard Payne University)
|
Hunger and poverty are both issues that significantly affect the Brownwood area. In Brown County, 20.3 percent of residents—and 29.2 percent of children—live at or below the poverty level, according to a report issued by the Texas Association of Com-munity Action Agencies in April 2008.
The Empty Bowls event garnered an outpouring of support from the community. Restau-rant owners donated soup, local artists made bowls, children decorated placemats, musicians played live music throughout the day, and many others served as volunteers.
“We are really appreciative of the support the community has shown,” said Angelia Bostick, director of Good Samaritan Ministries. “Now that people know about Empty Bowls, we hope to see even more participation next year.”
Katy Blackshear, director of Baptist Student Ministry at Howard Payne University, coordinated the handmade bowls for the event, provided by local artists and students from HPU. Each person who attended the event was invited to pick out a handmade bowl to take home.
“My hope is that all who took a bowl home with them from the event would place it somewhere significant as a reminder that there are people in our community and beyond who face hunger each and every day,” said Blackshear. “Surely, we can do more to bring an end to this sad reality.”
Texas Baptists around the state help to support Good Samaritan Ministries in Brownwood through gifts to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger.
Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.