Dear Editor:
We are the fourth grade class from Hoboken Charter School and we are learning about homelessness and hunger in preparation for our annual Empty Bowls event. This year our theme is, “What the World Eats.” We have been studying the causes of homelessness and hunger in our local community, and around the world. We have also been looking into what people eat around the world and why so many people don’t have enough to eat. We were appalled to learn from U.N. studies that there is “more than enough food produced in the world to feed everyone, yet 34,000 children die every single day of hunger or hunger-related causes.”
As the ambassadors for our school, it is our responsibility to organize and spread the word about the upcoming Empty Bowls event. We invite you to join us at 12:00 pm on Saturday, May 10, 2014 at the Hoboken Shelter, 300 Bloomfield St. Tickets for the Empty Bowls event can be purchased at the door for $10.00 a person or $25 per family. There will be live music, food, and hand-made bowls made by HCS students. All proceeds will benefit the work of hunger relief organizations in Hoboken.
Currently the Hoboken Shelter provides several services and programs to the local homeless such as drug and alcohol counseling, budget and medical counseling, job and life skills, mentoring and tutoring and emergency clothing. The day of the Empty Bowls event, Hoboken Charter School faculty and families will be stationed outside of the local supermarkets, accepting a variety of donations. They will provide shoppers with lists of things to buy inside of the stores. If you can’t make it to the event, try to go to one of the supermarkets to make a donation.
We believe that these programs are important and should continue, but we also realize that these programs need funding. That’s where you can help us! We hope to see you at the Empty Bowls event.
Courtney Leahy
Fourth Grade Lead Teacher