What’s a Buddy Bench?

A Pennsylvania boy named Christian was looking at schools in Germany, where his family was planning on moving to.  Some of the schools had a Buddy Bench, a bench where kids feeling alone could go to let classmates know they were looking for a friend.  Christian and his family didn’t end up moving to Germany but he liked the idea so much he convinced his school to install a Buddy Bench.  It was a great success!

Buddy Benches are quickly spreading to schools across America.  Here are some tips to have a successful Buddy Bench at your school!

• Say yes to the first classmate that invites you to join a game.
• Look around for a game to join while you are sitting on the buddy bench.
• Two people sitting on the bench should invite each other to play.
• Only use the bench if you can’t find anyone to play with. Do not use the buddy bench for casual sitting and socializing.
• Invite someone sitting on the bench to come and play with you.
• Keep playing with your new friends the next day!

The Buddy Bench featured in our 2019 exhibit at the Philadelphia Flower Show was decorated with help from Mr. Casey’s 3^rd grade class at Chatham Park Elementary and will be presented to them after the show.  Thank you to his class for helping us spread this fantastic idea!