Hardly can you find 10-year-old kids feel empathy towards other children. However, this one boy created Buddy Benches for his kids at school so that nobody feels alone during recess. His Buddy Bench led more than 2,000 schools to follow suit.
Christian Buck came up with the idea three years ago, when he and his family were contemplating of moving back to Germany. While looking for a possible new school, he saw a picture of a Buddy Bench, a place where lonely kids can sit during recess, so as to signal other kids to invite them to play.
Parenting reported that Christian and family didn't get to move, but the boy introduced the idea to his own school, Roundtown Elementary in York, Pennsylvania. The principal, Matthew Miller, loved it and project Buddy Bench commenced.
After Christian installed his first Buddy Bench in Roundtown, it became an inspiration to other schools which happily followed. Christian told Washington Post, "I didn't like to see kids lonely at recess when everyone is just playing with their friends."
Having started something wonderful, Christian and his principal have been featured on TedTalk. They have also gained popularity on a national scale. The young boy had been invited to numerous schools all over the U.S. to unveil newly installed Buddy Benches. In fact, other countries have also started installing Buddy Benches so as to leave no kid feeling alone during recess.
Recently, an elementary school in Canada installed two Buddy Benches. The principal of the school said that if a kid isn't sure what to do during recess, he could always hang out at the bench.
At such a young age, Christian has already inculcated the value of empathy. After unveiling a newly installed Buddy Bench, he always says, "Amazing things happen when you share your hopes and dreams." He added, "You may end up helping more people than you can ever imagine."
