Student’s idea leads to service project

By John Dilmore
john@casscountynow.com

Atlanta Primary School (APS) students for years to come will benefit from the initiative of one APS student who recently had an idea for helping kids in search of playmates.
Four Buddy Benches, each weighing 300 pounds and bearing an engraving of a rabbit, were delivered to APS last week, after student Landry Kate Peace spent the past several months raising $3,300 to pay for them.
APS Principal Donna Rice told students gathered in the school gym last week, for the benches’ unveiling, how the project came about.
“Landry came to my office … and she said, ‘Mrs. Rice, I have an idea’ … she took out a folder and she had drawn some pictures of a Buddy Bench, and she said ‘I want to raise money to buy Buddy Benches for our school.
“We call that a service project. That means you’re going to give up something to make somebody else’s life better.”
Rice explained, “If you need a friend -- if you can’t find anybody to play with, then you come over and sit on the bench, and somebody will come over and ask you to go play.
Any time you’re out on the playground and you feel like you don’t have a friend – everybody has a friend. What is it we say? ‘Be a buddy, not a bully.’”
Students gathered for the presentation were also given bracelets bearing the slogan, “Be a buddy, make a friend”.

PHOTO:
Gathered near two of the new Buddy Benches delivered to Atlanta Primary School (APS) last week were Atlanta ISD Superintendent Sidney Harrist, School Board President Joel Steger, Donald Peace, Gail Peace, Landry Kate Peace (who raised money to purchase the benches), Jeff Peace, Terri Peace, Dylan Peace, Tiffannee Watson and APS Principal Donna Rice.