Due to COVID-19, the beloved annual “Empty Bowls” event was postponed from its usual spring date this year; however, dedicated community members are making sure the event still takes place, “COVID-style.”
The Ferrum College campus community and public are invited to enjoy a modified Empty Bowls event on Sunday, November 15, 2020 from 12 – 4 p.m. The event will be held in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room in the College’s Franklin Hall.
Attendees must pre-register for one of eight 20-minute time slots with each time slot offering a unique assortment of 100 handcrafted bowls, along with beautiful works of art. Each time slot will feature a different array of bowls so not time slot is better than any other. Twenty guests at a time will be allowed to view the bowls and artwork widely spaced within the room.
Tickets are free and there is no advance purchase required. Use this link to pre-register.
The bowls, handcrafted by Ferrum College students, community members, and professional potters from Floyd and Ferrum, VA, may be purchased for $15 each. The Blue Ridge Potters Guild and other local artists also generously donated 57 bowls and numerous original works of art, including a gorgeous large ceramic totem, paintings, pottery, jewelry, and more, which will be featured in a “set price” silent auction.
“I have been involved with Empty Bowls for many years now and am honored to be part of what is truly a community event,” said Nell Fredericksen, local potter and jeweler and co-coordinator of the event. “From the patrons that attend with warm hearts and open wallets, to the students making bowls, the support of Ferrum College, and the regional community of artists that are so generous with their time and talents – it is truly humbling. Through the efforts of everyone involved we have been able to support the food insecure children right here in our community for more than ten years.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a meal will not be served and attendees must wear masks. Tables will be sanitized between each time slot and restocked with new bowls by National Honor Society volunteers Atticus Cooper and Lily Fredericksen.
All proceeds from the event support Panther Packs, a program at Ferrum Elementary School that sends qualifying children home for the weekend with backpacks stocked with nutritious, non-perishable food.
Following is list of original art donated to the event, and the artists who created it:
In addition to the bowls made by the Ferrum College ceramics classes, professional potters and community members handcrafted more than 200 bowls for the event. We are grateful for the talents of: Hona Knudsen, Steve Mitchell, Ron Sutterer, Wendy Werstlein, Josh Manning, Nell Fredericksen, Liz Cooper, Atticus Cooper, Neil Fredericksen, and Lily Fredericksen.
Tabatha Chitwood ’19, a third grade teacher at Ferrum Elementary, transitioned to virtual learning in March due to COVID-19.
Alumna Tabatha Chitwood ’19 knew she was always meant to be a teacher.
“I did a co-op my senior year [in high school] and loved it, but I had children first before going to college,” she explained. Chitwood spent her pre-college years working as a restaurant manager, server, and bartender, but never lost her drive to educate children.
She attended Virginia Western Community College for regular classes, and dabbled with becoming a nurse, but ultimately decided to pursue her teaching dream by enrolling as a non-traditional student in Ferrum College’s teacher education program. She graduated in May 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts.
“I was a single mother of two boys that played soccer and football. I was busy working two jobs full-time. But I found balancing everything easy because I am used to doing everything on my own,” she said.
In fact, Chitwood found higher education to be so manageable and worthwhile, she has enrolled at Liberty University to pursue a master’s degree in administration and supervision, with the goal of eventually becoming a principal or administrator. “But I will be teaching for a long time first, because I enjoy it,” said Chitwood.
After graduating from Ferrum, Chitwood was hired as a third grade teacher at Ferrum Elementary School.
“It was evident from the first day of school that Tabatha made instant connections with her students and throughout the year formed a bond that helped every student be successful,” said Jennifer Talley, principal at Ferrum Elementary. “Her classroom is a fun and engaging place for students to learn. She provides a variety of hands-on activities to enrich the learning experience for every student.”
Little did Chitwood know that her first year teaching would be so unusual. On March 13, 2020, Franklin County Public Schools closed abruptly for the remainder of the school year to tamp down the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.
“Transitioning to virtual learning was hard,” said Chitwood. “We continued using Google Classroom, which is something that we did from the first week of school. That part was easy. Technology is easy and fun for me. The hard part was not seeing my students in person.”
“I am sure she never expected her first year of teaching to transition so quickly from a typical classroom to a virtual classroom. Not only did Tabatha accept the challenge, she embraced the opportunity to provide the richest experiences for all of her students,” said Talley.
Chitwood worked diligently to conduct weekly Google Meets for her students to stay in touch. She also made the work interactive, assigning virtual field trips and hands-on projects like building solar ovens so students could harness the sun’s power to make s’mores.
She said transitioning to virtual learning during her first year of teaching went smoothly, thanks in part to the teaching strategies she learned at Ferrum College.
Chitwood is looking forward to hopefully returning to her in-person classroom in the fall. She is using the summer to continue dreaming up unique and creative ways for her next class to learn, noting “I just hope my students will look back and say I had a positive impact on their lives.”
Learn more about Ferrum College’s teacher education program, including the new elementary education major, here.
Last month, Ferrum College Delta Chi fraternity members helped package and deliver 256 pairs of new shoes and new socks to each student at Ferrum Elementary School in Ferrum, Va. The gift of shoes and socks was made possible through the partnership of Convoy of Hope Rural Compassion, Endicott Assembly of God Church, Endicott Assembly of God Women’s Ministries, and Tri Area Community Health Office Manager Martha Puckett. Delta Chi members bagged each pair of shoes matching the correct name with the correct size, grouped them by teacher, and then helped deliver the shoes and socks to the students.
“Delta Chi seemed to have such a great time living up to the Ferrum College motto, ‘Not Self, But Others,'” said Ferrum College Assistant Director of Financial Aid and Blue Ridge District School Board Member Julie Nix.
In the photograph, left to right, are Brenda Shively, Endicott Assembly of God member; Rev. Calvin Hickson Endicott Assembly of God pastor; Linda Hickson, Endicott Assembly of God member and wife of Rev. Calvin Hickson; Sherrie Hickson, Endicott Assembly of God member and daughter of Rev. Calvin Hickson; Max Harper, Delta Chi member; Zach Anderson, Delta Chi member; Chasity Berry, Tri Area Community Health clinical manager; Martha Puckett, Tri Area Community Health office manager; Julie Nix, Blue Ridge District School Board member and Ferrum College assistant director of financial aid; and Larry Meadors, Tri Area Community Health Board member.
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
