After a triumphant return to the Brownwood Coliseum a year ago, the Good Samaritan Ministries Empty Bowl Project – in its 14th year – will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, March 23 again at the Coliseum.
The Empty Bowls Project is the largest fundraiser of the year for Good Samaritan Ministries with 90% of the proceeds staying in Brown County to benefit local hunger ministries such as the Food Pantry, Food for Thought, Homebound Program, Homeless Boxes, the Deer Project, the Pig Project and the Mobile Food Pantry. The remaining 10% this year will be donated to Food for the Hungry.
For a $15 donation, ticket holders will be treated to a larger meal Thursday than in years past.
“Your admission ticket is for your bowl, but we’re also treating everyone to an expanded lunch menu,” said GSM Executive Director Leesa Stephens said. “We are working with the Heart of Texas Camp and Retreat, the 4-H Center, Brownwood Country Club and United Supermarket to provide for your $15 two bowls of soup, you can have dessert from any of the tables and have a bread from any of the tables. We’re going to have everything from rolls to cornbread muffins and desserts will be everything from cobbler to cookies and brownies.”
There is also a larger selection of bowls this year, according to Stephens.
“All of the bowls this year are new, we gave out all the bowls from last year. Tommy Faught with Kohler who glazed all the bowls for us tell us there’s 1,400 this year,” Stephens said. “I know we had 47 bowl painting parties and seven schools painted bowls as well.”
Those participating in the fifth annual Professional Women’s Summit will also be served from noon to 1 p.m. during this year’s event.
“One of the things they’ve always done at the summit is feed everyone lunch and Good Samaritan Ministries, in its almost 30-year history has always been directed by a woman, so what a great way to combine these two events,” Stephens said. “We approached Kandice Harris and Domonique Glaeske with the Chamber and said why don’t you bring the women from the summit down to have lunch with us.”
Sponsors of the event include Roberson Rent-All and the Men and Women of the Brownwood Hospital Auxiliary at the Sour-er Hero level; Soup-er Bowl Champ sponsors Walmart, TXU Energy, Troy & Bettie Evans, Performance Pipe, 3M, United Supermarket, Skies Over Texas Winery, Wes-Tex Printing, Kohler Corporation, Rex’s Texas Lanes, North Lake Community Church, and Brookeshire’s; Soup-er Achiever sponsors Prosperity Bank, Citizens National Bank, Texas Clean, Grooms Feed & Seed, Lamar Advertising, Porter Insurance Agency, Blanket Methodist Church, and TexasBank; and Soup-er Star sponsors Howard Payne University, Attorney Jason Johnson, Comanche Electric Co-Op, Andy’s Pest Troopers, Hendrick Medical Center, Western Bank, and Dan & Lynn Humeniuk.
“A lot of our sponsors are very humble and want to remain anonymous but we definitely want to give a shout out to Roberson Rent All and a very special sponsor this year is the auxiliary of the old Brownwood hospital,” Stephens said. “After Hendrick bought the hospital, they disbanded the auxiliary and the funds they had left they donated to Good Samaritan because they knew it would stay here in Brown County.”
For more information contact Leesa Stephens at 325-643-2273 or visit www.goodsambwd.org.
