Elmore County Fourth Grader Spreads Kindness with ‘Buddy Bench’ at School

It’s a simple bench on a playground.
But it could be the difference of a good day or bad day for someone.
It’s called the “Buddy Bench.”

“A buddy bench is where if you don’t have anybody to play with then you can go sit at it and you can invite someone to go play with you,” said Ayden Claire Kelley.

The buddy bench was created by a student in Pennsylvania and quickly caught on across the country.

Ayden Claire Kelley is a 4th grader at Airport Road Intermediate School in Elmore County.
And once she saw it at a school playground while visiting Tuscaloosa, she knew her school needed one too.
She says she has seen others left out on the playground.

“Kinda sad,” said Kelley.

And she was adamant about getting one.

“She kept bringing it back up and I said ‘okay, I really need to listen to her idea.'” said her mom, Kelly Kelley.

They found out the benches cost about 500 dollars each.
And Ayden Claire had the perfect idea for a fundraiser.

“Well, we sold shirts that say “Choose Kind” on them and we sold… close to 400.”

She and her family made the shirts and took orders from around the school.
And pretty soon, the money was raised for not only one bench… But four.
And they were recently delivered.

“I think it’s a great idea. I have always tried to teach all three of my girls to be kind,” said Kelly.

Even though Ayden Claire will be graduating from Airport Road Intermediate in just a few weeks, it’s her hope that the students that come behind her will enjoy the legacy she leaves behind and ….

“Find really close friends,” said Kelley.

For more information on the “Buddy Bench,” click here.