Buddy Bench: A Gift of Friendship
Clear Creek Christian School recently gave a “buddy bench” to New Hope for Families as a gift for the children in our early learning program. You might be wondering, “what is a buddy bench?”
Pre-K teacher Sheila Longoria holds up a copy of The Buddy Bench signed by Clear Creek students. The book accompanied the gift of a buddy bench for children at New Hope.
Buddy benches were invented to combat loneliness and bullying in schools. Sometimes called a “friendship bench,” these benches are provided at schools or on playgrounds as a way for children to signal to others that they are feeling lonely or isolated and need a friend to play with or someone to talk to.
Last year, Clear Creek students and staff, along with their families and friends, collected more than 200 pounds of plastic bottle caps that were melted down and remanufactured into a beautiful 8-foot-long buddy bench that they presented to New Hope this past spring.
“Each spring, Clear Creek Christian School has a schoolwide cross-curricular service project entitled By Our Love,” explained Kim Allard, 6th grade teacher at Clear Creek Christian School and longtime friend of New Hope. “The project allows students to put their faith into action by loving others. Our project this year focused on unifying old bottle caps and bringing them together to create something new — a buddy bench.”
“The buddy bench is a symbol of friendship and inclusivity,” continued Allard. “It serves as an agent of unifying and building peaceful friendships.”
Many thanks to the students and staff of Clear Creek Christian School and everyone involved in this thoughtful and generous gift to the children at New Hope.