When students at Brunskill School look for someone to play with on the playground, they look no further than the Buddy Bench.

Created during the 2014-15 school year by the Grade 2 class of teacher Jodie Wachs, the Buddy Bench was constructed by parents and painted by students to provide an inviting and highly visible place for students to meet up and find a buddy to play with.

The initiative was sparked by a class discussion about how hard it is to find friends for play. The hope is the bench serves as a physical space for students to gather and find friends to play with and that it will be a visible reminder of how kindness spreads.

The students' motto is: A good Buddy Bench is an empty buddy bench. They hope the idea of the Buddy Bench spreads to other grades and to other schools.

The bench project was funded by a separate act of friendship and respect when one of Brunskill’s Grade 8 students helped a senior couple during a Remembrance Day ceremony.

John and Betsy Bury were so impressed and touched by the student’s kindness that they contacted the school. Betsy had recently been awarded the Joanna Miller Peace Award and she donated the money from that award to the school to fund a project to promote peace—the Buddy Bench.