Melissa Rotary members completed another meaningful service project March 2026
with the installation of a new Buddy Bench at Highland Elementary School. This marks the second Buddy Bench built by the club, following last year’s successful installation at McKillip Elementary School.
The Buddy Bench initiative is designed to promote kindness, inclusion, and friendship on school playgrounds. Its purpose is simple: if a child feels lonely or needs someone to play with, they can sit on the bench as a signal to others to reach out.
The impact of the first bench has already been felt. One McKillip Elementary student shared, “I like the Buddy Bench because it makes everyone happy and makes sure everyone has a good time at recess.”
With the addition of the new bench at Highland Elementary, Melissa Rotary continues its commitment to fostering connection and compassion among students across the community.
When the sun warmed the playground at Highland Elementary March 2026, a small crowd gathered around the new red bench in the playground. Melissa Rotary members had arrived with big boxes and tools, laughter and purpose, and coffee and donuts to build another Buddy Bench — a simple seat meant to turn lonely moments into invitations. Teachers, counselors, and the principal applauded when the bench was placed in its new home, then enjoyed the coffee and donuts with Rotary members.
It wasn’t the club’s first time. Last year they built the first Buddy Bench at McKillip Elementary School, and the idea had spread through the district like a bright, hopeful rumor. The benches are ordinary-looking but extraordinary in purpose: a place where any child who needs a friend can sit, signaling to others that a small act of kindness is welcome. For Melissa Rotary members, the work is as much about building community as it is about building benches.
At McKillip, the bench has already become part of the playground routine. One student explained it simply and perfectly: “I like the Buddy Bench because it makes everyone happy and makes sure everyone has a good time at recess.” Teachers noticed fewer lonely faces and more hesitant children finding partners. Kids who once ate alone now trade jokes and snacks; shy starters are 
invited into games; recess becomes a little gentler, a little fairer.
As the Highland bench settles into the rhythm of the playground, the Rotary members imagine students returning from spring break who see a small hand waved from across the field, a classmate jogging over, and another child sliding onto the new bench. The bench doesn’t solve every problem, but in its unassuming way it offers possibility: a seat, a signal, and a reminder that friendship can be as simple as saying “come play with us.”
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