Indian River Clay has a mission to enlighten and enrich our community through our Outreach Programs. We partner with other organizations and non-profits in our area to offer art opportunities to children, seniors, and veterans. Our members and instructors coordinate and execute our outreach projects, have the opportunity to create programs for children and adults, and volunteer their time during the projects. IRC has become the epi-center of the Soup Bowl fundraiser for the Samaritan Center, producing over 1200 hand-made soup bowls each year for their worthy cause.
If you or your non-profit organization would like further information about Outreach Programs we offer, please contact our Outreach Committee through IRCoutreach@indianriverclay.org or by phone at (772) 202-8598.
Indian River Clay ended up producing 1428 bowls this year! Upon sale completion, Samaritan Center were left with around 200 bowls. A resounding success!!! Thanks to all IRC volunteers who came to help and participated in creating all the beautiful bowls. Some of the remaining bowls will be distributed to a few private Soup Bowl dinners and parties. After this, the remaining bowls will reside at the Samaritan Center and 1420 Coffee shop. They will be available for purchase until they are all gone at these two locations.
Community One Initiative Butterflies
Clay butterflies were used to make plaster press molds which will allow COI to reproduce many more for The Butterfly Project. It was great to have both local schools and the community represented. And thank you to Zoey, Glenda, and Cindy! There was also a discussion of Lois Lowry's book Number the Stars, used in many 5th grade classrooms for Holocaust education.
Willow School of Vero Beach- Community One Initiative Butterflies
We had another great class with the middle school kids at Willow! Led by Zoey Bridges they had a good time making the butterflies from clay and decorating them. They will paint them at the Laura Riding Jackson house and the butterflies will be displayed in the gardens there!
Samaritan Center Annual Soup Bowl Event
Each year, Indian River Clay partners with Samaritan Center to create beautiful soup bowls. These bowls are sold at the annual Soup Bowl Event to raise money for The Samaritan Center who provides transitional housing and guidance to homeless families in Indian River County and prepares them to live independently.
Rosewood Magnet School Butterfly Project
5th grade students at Vero's Rosewood Magnet School participated in the Butterfly Project, an ongoing collaboration with Community One Initiative which provides Holocaust education through the arts. The school superintendent visited the school to view the completed project during Holocaust Education Week in November. Students and teachers did an amazing job creating meaningful and beautiful "wishes for the world" symbolized by their ceramic butterflies. The district is interested in expanding and displaying the project for the community. The project built empathy through stories and creativity, Art transforms even the hardest of subjects!
Willow School of Vero Beach- Community One Initiative Butterflies
The pilot program for the Butterfly Project at the Willow School of Vero Beach was enjoyed by all! The Outreach Committee of IRC partnered with Shanti Sanchez of Community One Initiative (COI) and the Willow School. Zoey Bridges did a great job instructing the middle school students on using glaze with bisque clay butterflies! Materials were provided by COI and thank you Glenda for firing them. The Willow School created an installation in the butterfly garden at the Unity Church on the campus during Holocaust Education Week in November. The Outreach Committee hopes to work in the future offering more students this opportunity to make butterflies in memory of children lost during the Holocaust. Our community will be better for it!
Laura Riding Jackson Foundation- Write in the Middle Summer Camp
Youth Guidance- Tiki Mugs
Youth Guidance- Monster Whistles
Breaking Bread Platter
This Beautiful platter was conceived by Rabbi Michael Birnholz and made by the Indian River Clay artists in partnership with the interfaith community. It was made to be passed from one spiritual community to the next, to be used with the bread or food usually shared within a group. The purpose is to raise awareness of interfaith relationships and the common values we share. These values are depicted in the squares of clay around the rim of the platter. A documentary film is being made and produced by Raw Space Gallery about the making and sharing of the platter.
Indian River Next Generation Veterans Mugs with Maria Sparsis