Empty bowls? You might be asking yourself what is this about. It is a project set up by the schools from all over the Longmont area. It is designed to help raise money for the homeless population in Longmont.

The art club of skyline makes the bowls. Not all of the students in the club have to make bowls; it is only the ones who choose to. Therefore making the entire bowl making all voluntary. Also, Jennifer Mclees an Art Teacher here at Skyline, is also going to contribute “a lot” of the bowls by making them herself.

Mclees is hoping to make at the least 50 pots herself, and is hoping to make upwards of 200 bowls for the homeless. All of the bowls will be made on the wheel and depending on how familiar you are with and on the wheel each bowl on average takes around an hour to make and color. Although the bowls have yet to be started Mclees hopes to get on making them real soon, because they have to be done before the winter brake. The cost to make all of the bowls is around $100-$200 dollars and is mostly made from scrap clay to help cut the costs on them. All the money put into the bowls is made by fundraisers done by the art club. The bowls are then auctioned off where the money raised from the auction is given to the “Our Center”. Each bowl made usually goes for close to $50 dollars. The Our Center then uses that money to help buy jackets, miscellaneous clothes for the homeless, and also to help feed them.

What benefits do you get out of making these bowls Mclees answered with, “Just knowing that we contributed to doing something good.” She also feels that it is good for extracurricular groups to give to the community by sharing what they have to give back.

When the money is given to the Our Center it is in the hands of Lane Klotz who is the head of the empty bowls project. The Our Center is located here in Longmont on 3rd avenue right before Kimbark Street. Between all of the schools together they raise thousands of dollars. This money is used to help clothe and feed the homeless.