2-14-11 Empty Bowls Event to Help Needy Fairfax Area Families

MEDIA ADVISORY

Empty Bowls Fundraiser February 24

Local Artists, Students and Community Members Create Handcrafted Bowls

To Help Needy Families in Fairfax County Area

Photo Caption: On February 5, students in the ceramics program at Northern Virginia Community College Alexandria campus enjoyed making soup bowls to donate to Our Daily Bread's third annual Empty Bowls fundraiser, to be held February 24 in Fairfax City. Pictured left to right: Bill Schran, assistant professor and assistant dean of fine arts at the college, and students Roz Pensler, Dick White and Clara Hayward.

FAIRFAX, VA. (February 7, 2011) – With more than 60 families on its Food Program waiting list and overwhelming requests for financial aid, Fairfax-based non-profit Our Daily Bread will hold a community fundraising event on February 24, 2010 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. to help more struggling families throughout the Fairfax County area.

 

The event will be one of the first to be held at the new Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center in Fairfax City (3740 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA 22030). Handcrafted bowls made by local artists, high school and college students and children and adults from the community will be available for $25 or more. Children are welcome, with admission fee of $10 for one child or $20 for two or more children (hand-crafted bowl not included). Attendees receive soup and bread donated by local businesses as a reminder of those who are going hungry in our community. Music by the Fairfax Saxophone Quartet, raffles and a silent auction will also be part of the evening. More information is available at www.ODBFairfax.org.

 

Though the economic recession has officially ended, Our Daily Bread continues to receive far more requests for food and financial assistance than it can handle. The organization finds that many families in the Fairfax County area who were doing well before the recession hit are still struggling to regain what they had, and those who had little or nothing before the recession are suffering even more.  ODB’s Food Program is currently serving 60 families throughout the County and has more than 60 families on its waiting list. Its Financial Assistance program has to turn down approximately five requests for emergency rent or utility assistance each day.

 

Our Daily Bread’s Executive Director Lisa Whetzel said, “Even though Fairfax County is repeatedly ranked among the wealthiest counties in America, we are hearing from an overwhelming number of residents who continue to struggle to feed and house their families. We are extremely concerned about what will happen to those who we must turn down for Financial Assistance or who languish on our Food waiting list for months. We are trying to help as many families as possible stay in their homes and regain their financial footing, but we know we are only assisting a small fraction of those who could benefit from our services. We hope the community will turn out in force at our Empty Bowls event to help us make a real difference for our neighbors in need.”

 

Empty Bowls is a nationally recognized grassroots program that is designed to help local organizations fight hunger, raise awareness about the issues of hunger and to help communities change attitudes so that hunger will no longer exist.

 

Our Daily Bread is a volunteer-based organization focused on easing the plight of low-income residents in the Fairfax County area of Virginia. It draws volunteers from local faith-based groups, community organizations, businesses, schools and universities. For information visit www.ODBFairfax.org.

 

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