Picture this: it's your first day at a new school and the bell just rang, starting most kids' favorite part of the day. No, not lunch, I’m talking about recess. The time to run and play with your friends, but all of your friends are at your old school, playing on the old equipment that you knew and loved. You look around, but everyone already has their group. You have the girls by the jungle gym, the boys playing basketball, and a group of kids swinging together. Across the field, you see a group playing tag. You start thinking to yourself that this recess may never end, so you sit down on the black and gold bench. Just when you think that you’ll never make friends, a classmate comes up and sits next to you. He asks your name and if you want to play soccer with him. A smile crosses your face, and you think this might not be so bad.
Studies show that 80% of students feel loneliness at school. That’s why some schools are installing Buddy Benches. Created to combat loneliness and bullying in schools. Sometimes called a friendship bench, these benches are provided on school playgrounds as a way for students to signal to others that they are feeling lonely and isolated and need a friend to play with or someone to talk to. The bench allows other children on the playground to clearly see when another kid needs support or a friend, and they can join them on the bench for a chat or invite them to play.
Though sometimes shy, Morgan never wanted anyone to feel left out and would go out of her way to include everyone. That’s why The Morgan Anderson S3 Foundation was happy to lend a helping hand to coordinate with both Festus and Pevely to provide Buddy Benches. Each school collected or is in the process of collecting plastic bottle caps, which are then recycled into beautiful Buddy Benches.
Comments