Lulled by the humming of a dozen pottery wheels in motion, students in the Ridgeview High School advanced ceramics class kept all their attention fixed on the spinning gray clay in front of them.

In an adjacent room, hundreds of handmade ceramic bowls were neatly stacked, waiting for their turn in the kiln.

For nearly a year, ceramics students at Ridgeview and Redmond High Schools have been working diligently (many of them staying after school and coming back on the weekends) to make hundreds of unique, handcrafted bowls for the fifth annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser luncheon set for April 8.

“Empty Bowls Day is one of the high points of my year. Seeing so much time and work culminate in this awesome day, seeing so many supportive faces, and watching bowls fly off the table . . . it’s invigorating!” said Jensine Peterson, vice principal at Ridgeview.

The annual Redmond event benefits Jericho Road, a Redmond nonprofit whose mission is to provide emergency housing assistance to the homeless and free hot meals during the week in a local church.

Empty Bowls events are held across the country to raise money for various causes. Central Oregon Community College hosts its annual Empty Bowls dinner in Bend to benefit NeighborImpact.

When the Empty Bowls event was first developed in Redmond in 2014, organizers sought out a “food shelf,” said Peterson. What came to mind was Jericho Road and its student backpack program.

According to Peterson, former teacher Mary Kimmel started the idea when she identified students who possibly didn’t have a reliable food source at home and began sending them home with a backpack full of food every Friday.

“She knew they had food at school during the week, but they might not have enough to eat over the weekend,” Peterson said.

Jericho Road continues the backpack program today for all grades in Redmond.

At the spring luncheon, guests can purchase a bowl for $20 and enjoy gourmet soup and bread. Additional bowls are available for $15 each.

Last year nearly 600 bowls were sold, along with silent auction items and other ceramics such as vases and mug sets, raising nearly $6,000 for Jericho Road. Close to 800 bowls will be made this year, and as always, the goal is to raise more money than the previous year.

“I like helping my community and making a difference for other people,” said Tristy Osbon, senior at Ridgeview High School.

“Making a bowl seems small, but it impacts people more than I probably know,” she said.

Ridgeview senior Nick Nelson has been making bowls for the annual fundraiser since his freshman year and has completed more than 40 bowls this year. Between him and his older brother and sister, the trio of siblings have made between 200 and 300 bowls over several years.

“There’s absolutely a rewarding feeling for this,” said Nelson. “And I don’t get bored making bowls. Each bowl can be different and creative.”

To help cover the cost of the materials and ingredients for the lunch, local businesses donated either money or goods to the program, said Brian Manselle, Ridgeview High School’s advanced ceramics instructor.

“This is the best year from sponsors,” said Manselle, noting that local restaurants donated ingredients for the homemade bread, a local ranch donated the beef for the soup, and a local dentist covered the cost of the clay and other materials.

“I’m inspired by the lasting impact this event is having, not only on our community and those benefited by Jericho Road, but on our teenage students,” said Peterson.

“Regardless of how much privilege or access to oppor-tunity one has, there will always be someone who has less. We teach students to ‘be the change we wish to see’ and to leave the world better than how we found it. This event is one way for students to use their learning to better the world for others.” •