Feed the Body, Feed the Soul: Non-Profits in Harmony

Earlier this month, presented Valerie Brown Traore, CEO of the South Jersey Food Bank, with a check for $1,500 raised from the "Empty Bowls" fundraiser. This act was the culmination of community effort, local generosity, and the rare event of a non-profit supporting another non-profit.

You may have read my blog post this past fall, at one of our throw-a-thons, done in preparation for the Empty Bowls fundraiser. In the end, lead by the efforts of Paul Serena, contributions from artists and novices alike totaled 356 bowls. The Empty Bowls event took place in early December as part of Perkins Center’s annual Clay Fest. Guests were able to purchase a bowl and then fill it with soup and salad donated by area restaurants. As the last bowl was filled with soup, we totaled over 300 bowls, which had been served and sold for $10-15 apiece. This raised $3,000 total, half of which went to scholarship and education efforts here at Perkins Center, and the other half to the efforts of a fellow non-profit, the South Jersey Food Bank.

"Feed the body, feed the soul" was the mantra in preparing for the event, incorporating the goals of both community organizations: ensuring everyone has enough food for a healthy and satisfying diet and ensuring the arts reach into the lives of everyone in our community, regardless of financial means.

I hope you will share with me in the feelings expressed by Alan Willoughby, executive director of the Perkins Center: “We are all in this together. Raising money to support the Food Bank of South Jersey is very much connected to our raising money to support the arts—reinforcing our shared commitment to serve our communities.” 

I believe we all share this commitment, because I have seen it happen from beginning to end, as exemplified in the Empty Bowls experience. It is a great feeling to do good, and I hope you share in this feeling with me as both Perkins Center and the South Jersey Food Bank continue to strive to serve our communities.

Thank you, everyone!