New School Benches Aim to Foster Friendship on the Playground

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX) – Elementary schools in Twin Falls each received a Buddy Bench this week to help curb loneliness and foster friendship on the playground.

Student leaders at each school picked out their bench’s color, and they were installed Monday and Tuesday at the schools. Students will be educated this week about the purpose of the benches, said Linda Watkins, executive director of the Twin Falls School District Education Foundation. The benches serve as a visual reminder that those who sit on them might need a friend.

“If a student notices someone sitting on the bench they know that the person is alone and doesn’t have anyone to play with,” she said. “He or she could then go over and say, ‘Hey, come and play with me.’”

The Buddy Bench has become popular at schools across the country the past few years after Christian Buck, a then first-grader in York, Pa., asked his principal if the school could place a bench in the playground for lonely students to sit on during recess. Other students could then befriend those who sit on the bench.

Christian had seen a similar bench on the website of a German school and thought it’d be a good idea for his school. It worked. Local media picked up the story and it quickly spread nationwide.

Watkins said not only is the bench a good thing for Twin Falls schools, but the project has brought several community members together – the school district, Seagraves Family Foundation and Clif Bar.

Employees of Clif Bar, which will soon open a manufacturing facility in Twin Falls, installed the benches. Chris Packer, the plant’s engineering manager, and his team was at Harrison Elementary on Tuesday morning installing a bench. The company encourages its employees to get out and participate in community projects, he said, and already he’s been able to do a few.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said.

The benches were provided by a grant from Seagraves.

“The benches are such a good thing for the schools,” Watkins said. “I like that it’s a partnership. I believe we can always get more done working together than working alone.”