Bowls will be auctioned to support area agency

CELINA - Beth Gehret, her daughter Josie and a group of Josie's friends sat in Brew Nation on Saturday morning, chatting happily as each painted her own ceramic bowl.

Josie and her friends enjoy craft projects, and as part of her 14th birthday celebration, they, along with 126 others who registered, decided to take part in Our Home Family Resource Center's "Create A Bowl" event.

People flowed in throughout the day to paint bowls, with the event lasting from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Our Home marketing and development coordinator Deb Simon-Heinfeld said that 220 bowls were to be painted in preparation for the organization's Empty Bowls Dinner and Auction on April 14.

"This is the first year we're doing something like this, and we want to build upon that and continue doing it each year," Simon-Heinfeld said.

As people came in for their painting sessions, they consulted a book to pick out their bowls. Each has a number printed on the bottom to help people find their bowl after they've painted it, Simon-Heinfeld said. Each bowl also has the current year printed on the bottom, so if people participate multiple years in a row, they can start a collection, she continued.

Simon-Heinfeld said they had one woman from the United Methodist Church call to say she had recruited 10 people for the event and was raising money for the nonprofit.

"It's wonderful for the community to come together," she continued.

Our Home recruited people to raise funds to participate. The minimum goal was $20 per person, which covered the cost of the bowl and the paint. If participants raised more than $50, their names were put into a raffle, making them eligible to win Celina-Mercer County Chamber of Commerce gift cards and special event T-shirts.

Each of the uniquely painted bowls is meant to symbolize "a family; a child; a senior; a person between addresses; someone struggling with illness; or someone who feels helpless, hopeless and hungry. … In other words, the bowls will represent unmet needs in our community."

The bowls are essentially being donated to the dinner and auction to help raise money for the organization. However, people attending the dinner can reserve specific bowls for themselves, whether they be bowls they painted or those painted by a spouse or child.

The Empty Bowls Dinner and Auction will be held April 14 at the American Legion hall in Celina. It will feature a buffet of soups and salads, a cash bar, silent auctions, raffles and door prizes. Simon-Heinfeld said 200 tickets are being sold for $25 each, but for an extra $10 people can reserve a specific bowl ahead of the auction.

Our Home is still seeking sponsors for the dinner and auction. All proceeds will support Our Home's current programs and expand initiatives designed to assist people in need, motivate them to develop and inspire confidence and self-sufficiency, Simon-Heinfeld said.

For more information about Our Home's programs and services, visit ourhomefrc.com or call 419-586-4663.