Vashon’s third annual “Empty Bowls” fundraiser will take place at an Islander’s home on Friday. Organized by the Vashon High School Amnesty International/Interact Club, the event will raise funds for the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank.

“We wanted to do something to give back to the food bank, since they give so much to our Islanders and so many Islanders use it as a resource,” said senior Alissa Kimbrough, a member of the VHS Interact Club. “It’s called ‘Empty Bowls’ because the food bank fills the bowls for everyone else.”

The event will feature a dinner of tortilla soup, beans and rice, an open mic where high school bands will perform and a silent auction of bowls made and painted by Island artists and students. The event is free, though donations are welcomed and are given to the Vashon food bank.

The Vashon High School club has held this event for two years in a row, and raised more than $800 last year for the food bank in an event that drew more than 35 people, Kimbrough said.

The Amnesty International/Interact Club at the high school has a two-pronged mission — to reduce human rights violations in other countries and to raise awareness of topical local issues. The 15 members of the group write letters to leaders of foreign nations where human rights are being violated, and the VHS students also plan local events such as “Empty Bowls” to help out in their own community.

“We try to raise awareness of human rights violations … and we work and volunteer in our own community,” Kimbrough said.

Empty Bowls

The fundraiser for the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 21, at 10810 S.W. Bank Road. Featuring a soup dinner, open mic and artisan-made bowl silent auction, Empty Bowls is free, but all money raised goes to the food bank.