Empowering the Community Through Charitable Activities

The Empty Bowl Event 2026 was a tremendous success!  Special thanks to all who contributed to this wonderful, delicious, beautiful and lucrative event to benefit the work of The Jesse Tree!  The event raised over $40,000 this year!

For the past thirty years, sponsored by The Jesse Tree and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Galveston County the event has generated funding for The Jesse Tree. The event was introduced in Galveston, by Madeleine Baker who was at the time on the board of directors of The Jesse Tree and learned about a global movement call The Empty Bowl to show that The Arts can actively help solve social issues in communities.  The original event, founded by Lisa Blackburn and John Hartum in 1990, in Michigan has since gone global and has been successful in Galveston, TX for thirty years. see more regarding the global event at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empty_Bowls

The true focus of the event is “filling empty bowls” in one’s community. Whether the proceeds are given to food banks, soup kitchens, ministries or agencies, all efforts ultimate fill empty bowls – and empty stomachs, showing that The Arts in collaboration with other partners can achieve this goal.  In Galveston, The UU “Bowlers” contribute their time and talent to create four-hundred ceramic bowls, while Galveston College’s Ceramics students donate their works of art and Galveston College’s Culinary Arts Program makes and serves soup!  Fourteen local (fabulous) restaurant display their culinary arts by donation enough delicious soup to feed nearly four hundred attendees while raising over $40,000 to continue The Work of The Jesse Tree in Galveston.

In 2026, The Unitarian Universalist Bowlers handcrafted nearly 400 ceramic bowls, hand decorated and fired them for the event; Fifteen amazing restaurants each provided five gallons of delicious soup and fourteen incredibly generous Table Sponsors gave financial support that generated over $40,000 in proceeds from the event. Individuals bought tickets and a Silent Auction and “Buy-it-Now” event contributed to the proceeds.

Catered by Benno’s, the event ran smoothly from start to finish with wine, beer and beverages; breads and crackers galore and Benno’s incredible Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce as dessert. Music was provided by Hector Bisio, pianist with selected numbers by Renee Hanley, violinist and Ted Hanley, accordionist. The event was held at The Atrium a fantastic space for events located at 1801 Mechanic Street near downtown Galveston.  The venue is owned and operated by The Cordray’s who have contributed greatly to preserving the antiquities of Galveston.   Many commented that it was the best Empty Bowl Event ever, but next year’s will be even better!

Mark your calendar: The Empty Bowl Event, Saturday, October 23, 2027, 6PM to 8PM at The Artisan, 1801 Mechanic Street, Galveston, Texas.

So, how does The Jesse Tree fill Empty Bowls?

Give a person a fish and s/he eat for the day; teach a person to fish and they eat for a lifetime.  Education, empowerment, advocacy, training and long-term planning are strategies used by The Jesse Tree to assure that independence, self-sufficiency and happiness are achieved by common-sense, integrated care.

Thirty years ago, The Jesse Tree coordinated fourteen “Food Fairs” across Galveston County and delivered Food Boxes to the residents of Senior Public Housing. At that time, the proceeds of The Empty Bowl Event were designated to support these programs.  Over time, many of these events were either transitioned to the church or organization at which they were held or other resources took their place. In fact, with diabetes and obesity as two of the most threatening public health issues, there are many more sources of food and fewer sources for chronic conditions management.  The Jesse Tree is directly responsible for establishing many of the food sources and is one of the few resources left for the uninsured to seek connections to address chronic conditions management.  At present, The Jesse Tree:

• Provides a Bilingual Helpline and Resource Coordination:
  • Screens, makes referrals for food, rent/utility assistance, coordinates connections for integrated care for healthcare, social services, ministerial assistance and community services. (Averages 30 – 50 calls per day)
• The Health Equipment Loan Program (HELP):
  • Provides durable medical equipment and medical supplies for uninsured and under-insured patients; assists hospitals in discharge planning; provides adult undergarments, bed pads, diabetes supplies, etc. to uninsured families, (averages 5 to 10 calls per week)
• The Survivor’s Support Network:
  • Dispatches a team of highly trained volunteers to assist family and friends of drowning victims on Galveston Beaches; provides lodging, food, clothing and helps coordinate decedent affairs in the aftermath of drownings. (Averages 8 to 12 events annually)
• Multi-Chronic-Conditions-Management Program:
  • Developed by The Jesse Tree, this program outlines, screens and teaches strategies for addressing both chronic health and social conditions. Based on original models for which Jesse Tree staff were trained, all models focused on only one chronic condition, whereas The Jesse Tree’s clientele frequently displayed multi chronic health conditions and multi chronic social conditions all of which must be addressed to fully restore health and self-sufficiency. (Coordinated individually with patient and healthcare provider)

To learn more of the history of The Jesse Tree:

From its inception in 1995, The Jesse Tree, a convening organization, has used internet technology to address complex community social problems.  At the height of its development, The Jesse Tree had twenty-eight, well-developed programs and projects that integrated healthcare, social services, ministerial and community resources. It operated with a $1.8 million dollar budget and well over thirty (mostly bilingual/multi-cultural) employees. In 2001, The Health Resource Services Association (HRSA), awarded Galveston a $3.2 million dollar Community Access Grant (CAP) based on a grant submitted by a consortium of local providers. The grant was written by The Jesse Tree’s founder, Ted Hanley who was paid by UTMB’s Department of Community Outreach to write the grant and coordinate the plan. At the time, HRSA proclaimed The Jesse Tree, “A Model that Works” and eventually sent a film crew to document the success of connecting the enormous population of uninsured Galvestonians to healthcare and social services while enjoining ministries, other agencies and community services to literally wrap the patient/client in care.  Sadly, once the grant funding was depleted, many partners left the consortium.  The Jesse Tree continued providing the CAP services until Hurricane Ike (2008) destroyed the main offices on Galveston, Island, the contents and vehicles and we lost many employees whose homes were destroyed.  At that point we began to operate out of the offices generously provided to us at HCA’s Mainland Medical Center in Texas City, TX.

Recognizing consistent access to good nutrition as the basis to healthy living and improved health, The Jesse Tree established fourteen “Food Fair” sites around the county.  Mostly in partnership with churches, The Houston Food Bank would deliver a weekly shipment of fresh produce (several tons often valued at over $200,000 per shipment) for the cost of the shipping (often less than $200) to the sites. As the food was being positioned for distribution, The Jesse Tree would set-up healthcare screenings, social service screenings and other outreach sources outdoors, while indoor activities, such as diabetes management, voter registration, adult immunization (tetanus, flu, pneumonia, etc. was offered indoors.  Under the auspices of a grant form Robert Wood Johnson, several members of The Jesse Tree staff were trained in chronic conditions management. This led to the development of a Multi-Chronic-Conditions-Management Program developed by the Jesse Tree that recognizes and treats Chronic Social Conditions, such as poverty, homelessness, domestic violence and chronic unemployment.

The first major project in collaboration with The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston’s (UTMB) Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health (PMCH). At that time, Harvey Bunce was the Chairman and Debby Chambers was the Administrator. Debby was also the first President of the newly formed Jesse Tree Board of Directors.  With the guidance and generosity “The Galveston Safety Net” – Galveston County’s first social service website was developed to maintain and provide current, correct information on where to get help and how to get help.  Cecil Denney in UTMB’s Information Technology Department (IT) developed the website and introduced Mouyong Liu to The Jesse Tree – suggesting that he volunteer to learn more about internet technology. His wife, Xiaoyong Bao was in Medical School at UTMB.  This launched the first phase of technology development at The Jesse Tree.