Buddy Bench: Best Seat in the House

Samantha Gibbs of Reading, Massachusetts, wanted to earn her Silver Award for Girl Scouts last spring. To do that, she needed to find a problem to solve. She found it in the “buddy bench” — and in the process, has changed an entire town.

A bubbly, pretty ninth-grader at Reading Memorial High School, Gibbs, 15, has Down syndrome. Yet she has worked step by step to obtain new playground benches that foster friendship and fight loneliness among kids during school recess.

“Sometimes kids can’t get into a friend group. They don’t know how.”

To use a buddy bench, a student simply sits down. Soon, a classmate will notice — and will invite that student to play.

“I looked at the bench at my mom’s friend’s school — they have one — and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a good idea.’ I thought about it, and said ‘Maybe I could do this for my Silver Award,'” Samantha Gibbs — affectionately known as ‘Sam’ by family and friends — told LifeZette.

“Sam was really determined to get the Silver Award for Girl Scouts. The Gold Award is the highest award you can get when you’re in high school, and the silver is for middle school,” said mom Lisa Gibbs. “And she earned it, through this process. She learned that good things don’t just happen. You have to stick with it and work hard.”

“I’m so proud of Sam,” Gibbs continued. “Together we planned out the steps to making the benches a reality, and with the help of others, did all the behind-the-scenes things.”

Young Samantha Gibbs understands the need for buddy benches. She knows what it is like to feel different. And not wanting others to feel the same, she was willing to do whatever it took to make her idea a reality.

“We started getting excited, but we had to earn the money first,” she said. “I went to the five elementary schools and the preschool and gave a presentation, and the whole time I believed I really could solve this. The problem is sometimes kids can’t get into a friend group. They don’t know how to. So I said, ‘Wow, I love this idea.’ Then the director of recreation in our town said, ‘Wow, I love this idea, too.'”

“It’s such a simple concept,” said Lisa Gibbs. “Inclusion is something very near and dear to our hearts as a family. Sam gave her presentation many times and at all the schools — and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. She ended with, ‘No one should be alone like I was at recess.'”

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Bullying is a big problem, said Sam Gibbs. “The benches help with bullying.”

First, Gibbs and her mom met with the superintendent of schools. “I was nervous, but I knew what I was going to say,” said Sam Gibbs. “I had to go to all the PTOs [Parent Teacher Organizations] in Reading, and make a presentation about why we needed buddy benches. It’s hard to give a presentation, but you put your mind to it.”

Her mother said, “Reading is not easy for Sam. To do the public speaking and to read her speech in front of everybody was powerful.”

“Sam ended her presentations with, ‘No one should be alone like I was at recess.'”

No matter what it took, this girl was determined to fund six benches.

“Girl Scouts doesn’t like you to start a GoFundMe for projects. They want you to be creative about how you receive funding,” Lisa Gibbs explained. “The very interesting thing about Sam’s idea is that everyone jumped on board right away. Soon, we had to create a bank account. It was exciting, seeing the enthusiasm. Sam raised over $7,000. The rotary club in town donated enough for one bench, another gentleman donated a whole bench — then friends, family, and complete strangers jumped on board, too.”

Samantha Gibbs said she gets her drive from her mother and her grandmother. Her father, Rob, and her brothers Douglas, 18, and Alec, 17, are very proud of her, she said. “Her brothers have been really amazed by her,” said their mom.

“All the people who helped me and supported me were great,” said Samantha Gibbs.

The Buddy Bench — yes, it’s a formal name by now — isn’t there to hang out on. It serves a specific purpose: to make a friend.

“One of the rules is if you sit on the bench and you see someone you want to play with, you can get up and play with them,” said Samantha Gibbs. “And if you are sitting on the bench, you play with the first friend who invites you — don’t be choosy.”

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The benches were installed in August — and Samantha Gibbs may not be done with her good works just yet. In high school, she will be going for the Gold Award in Girl Scouts. For that project, daughter and mother are thinking of spreading the benches into urban areas.

“Sam inspires me every day,” said Lisa Gibbs, “so it’s my hope that others will be inspired to change the world — one bench at a time.”

Young Sam Gibbs is pleased that she has helped other kids find a friend. In the process, she learned a few things about herself. “I found out that this is a good community,” she said. “I really do want to be a part of this community.”