By Jared Gottselig

Buddy Benches to eliminate loneliness

Aug 23, 2017 | 8:00 AM

An initiative in the Battlefords called Buddy Benches is planning to make bullying take a seat and promote inclusiveness among children at school.

Rene L’Heureux, Owner of Beauty Spot Lash Bar, spearheaded the project with her company after getting the ‘buddy bench’ idea from a client.

“I wasn’t actually aware [bullying] was such a problem here, but it is,” L’Heureux said. “[The client] tried this technique, and it went over so well that I knew we had to do something to try and get all the schools to have [Buddy Benches].”

With a goal of eliminating loneliness, the concept of Buddy Benches is when a child doesn’t have anyone to play with, they will sit on the bench, which is a cue for other kids to come invite them to play.

Eleven benches will be constructed and placed at each school in the Battlefords.

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“[Buddy Benches] is a really good idea, and North Battleford doesn’t have anything like this for the schools,” L’Heureux said. “It just gets kids interacting with different groups that they may not have joined otherwise.”

According to L’Heureux, she approached Discovery Co-op for help, and without hesitation the company donated all the wood needed for the benches.

The husband of another one of Beauty Spot’s client is also building all the benches for free.

Initially, L’Heureux was concerned that this idea would target children on the bench, but after seeing the success other schools in North America have been having, she firmly believed targeting won’t be the case.

One of the benches will be on display at Discovery Co-op’s Kids’ Club Carnival on September 9.

jared.gottselig@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jgottsel