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Christian Bucks, a Pennsylvania elementary school student, suggested a buddy bench could be the solution for kids feeling lonely and left out on the playground.
How does the buddy bench work? If a student feels lonely, or has nothing to do, they can go to the buddy bench. Soon, another student will come to the bench and ask if they want to talk or play.
Christian learned about a buddy bench when he read about a school in Germany. “I thought it was a great way to help kids who feel lonely or left out from time to time,” remembered Christian.
Christian explained his idea to his principal, Matthew Miller. “Mr. Miller checked around and found a bench that would work for our school,” Christian said.
Principal Miller described Christian as a P.R.O.U.D. (Polite Responsible Outstanding Understanding Dependable) student who loves making friends and making sure others have friends.
Big News
Christian’s local newspaper, The York Daily Record, published an article about Christian and his buddy bench. The story went viral on social media, shared again and again by people online. Thousands and thousands of people read about this awesome idea.
Now more than 500 schools around the world (in eleven countries) have installed buddy benches—both across the United States, and in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, Italy and Canada, according to Christian’s family, which has kept track of the growth, says The York Daily Record, which first reported the story.
