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Buddy Benches purchased for two local elementary schools

TORONTO — Who doesn’t like a “buddy?”

That was a major topic at the summer Vacation Bible School program held at Hill Top United Presbyterian Church in the Toronto area where the children participating viewed a brief video about the “Buddy Bench” program and decided to designate VBS offering money to help purchase two of them.

VBS officials explained the concept behind the bench is to have a location on a playground for a child to go, for example, when feeling alone and wanting someone to talk to or to be invited into a group to play a game.

Buddy Benches represent a way of caring for people. “In the idea of fostering friendship, this makes other students aware that they can make new friends, care for others, and respect those in the world with whom we share time and space,” a news release notes. “It is a character-building lesson for everyone in that the persons who decide that they will find a comfort zone on the bench will look around to see what is happening on the playground, what activity they might like to join, play with a person who first asks them to come be with the group because they were noticed sitting alone and to be brave.”

Buddy Benches have been ordered and will be placed Karaffa Elementary and Stanton Elementary, the two schools the VBS participants attend. The video will be available for the student bodies to view to understand the concept of “friendship stations” and to know what to watch for in order to be “good and caring citizens.”

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