sammie vance - Sammies buddy bench project
Sammie is a 6th grader from Fort Wayne, Indiana and founder of Sammie’s Buddy Bench Project. Launching Sammie’s Buddy Bench Project in 2017, Sammie discovered the Buddy Bench after watching a video about the initiative. Designed to eliminate loneliness and foster friendship at school, Buddy Benches are a special place at school where a child can go if they want someone to talk to, promoting the message of kindness on the playground and elsewhere at school. When Sammie set out to establish a Buddy Bench at her elementary school, Haley Elementary, she asked her classmates and community to collect recycled bottle caps and plastic lids, materials that are used to make the benches. Her community responded overwhelmingly, collecting 1,600-pounds of materials, enough to build three benches. Sammie has since been involved in placing over 100 Buddy Benches at schools in the U.S. and internationally.