“Buddy Benches” is a nationwide campaign that offers a safe seat to children who feel lonely. Benches are placed in elementary schools to allow others to take a seat if they feel like they need a friend. The idea is that other children will see a child sitting on the buddy bench and join him or her.

Kay Irlas, director of career and technology, asked all advanced welding manufacturing classes to build buddy benches to be placed on local elementary campuses for this friend outreach program. It has been an ongoing project for the past couple of months.

“We have one bench completed and another that needs to be painted,” welding teacher Tony Roseberry said. “We took the Wylie Way symbol and incorporated that into a bench that represented what we aim towards for schools.”

Students in welding and construction classes have been building buddy benches for the past few weeks.

“I felt pretty good helping out an elementary school,” senior David Harris said. “I’ve been through bullying because of my Tourette’s and it’s not fun.”

Some of the boys who helped make the buddy benches explained how they would have been lead to sit on these benches had they been available when they were in elementary school.

“I have a friend who participates in the teacher program here. She has been very grateful to know that we are working on these benches,” senior Brian Rayburn said.

Though Rayburn says he’s not experienced bullying, he said he would have sat on a buddy bench if he wanted company.

“I wouldn’t say I was bullied, but having only one arm I was looked at differently,” Rayburn said. “But even if I did get bullied, I wouldn’t fight back or let it get to me. It only makes the bully feel stronger.”