Submitted by Sarah Bogaczyk, MAVinS co-founder
The local not-for-profit group, Mothers Against Violence in Schools (MAVinS), partnered with the Whittier administration and PTA to debut two Buddy Benches at the school during an all-school assembly on Tuesday, Oct. 25. The goal of the benches is to encourage inclusion and kindness during a child’s formative years. Students who feel they don’t have anyone to play with or would like to make a new friend can simply sit on the bench, which is a signal to others to ask the student to join them in play.
With many stories of violent acts linked back to prolonged feelings of isolation, MAVinS felt tackling empathy at a young age was paramount. They discovered that the Buddy Bench concept had been used on school playgrounds across the country to help foster inclusion at a young age and further enhance a culture of empathy. The group set a goal to gift a set of benches to a local Downers Grove school.
Upon proposal, the addition of the benches received full support from Whittier’s administration and PTA. Principal Michael Krugman immediately saw the value in having a bench placed on both the lower and upper elementary playgrounds.
“The Buddy Benches will allow all students to feel that they belong,” Krugman said. “This small gesture will encourage kindness, inclusion and acceptance of all, and hopefully be a reminder that we all belong to an awesome school community.”
The benches were unveiled to the students during an all-school assembly. MAVinS co-founders Susan Lorenc and Sarah Bogaczyk shared a presentation about the benches amidst the students’ cheers. The presentation culminated with the students reciting the Buddy Bench Pledge, a school-wide commitment to kindness, empathy and appreciation of individuality. The benches have been installed in both playgrounds.
“Our hope is that this simple bench can be a present, daily reminder to students to look for someone that could use a friend and encourage them to act on that observation. We believe the bench can play a part in shaping a community of caring citizens from the start,” Bogaczyk said.
MAVinS secured funding for two benches from personal donations made by many Whittier families, in tandem with proceeds from a fundraising event at The Dinner Club in LaGrange.
“The support that this initiative received was a powerful reminder of the caring community we already live in, and we’re excited to build on that,” Lorenc said.
MAVinS hopes that Whittier is the first of many more schools to bring Buddy Benches, and parents from other schools are encouraged to contact MAVinS to find out how to go about securing benches at their school or to share thoughts on other ways MAVinS can deliver on the group’s mission.
About MAVinS: Downers Grove residents Susan Lorenc, Sarah Bogaczyk and Irene Nelson founded MAVinS in 2015. After seeing one too many tragic news stories, these women were compelled to come together and figure out how to change the story, reverse the headlines and find meaningful ways to keep schools, teachers and children safer. MAVinS’ mission is to partner with schools to provide supplemental services aimed at preventing violence in schools, empowering parents to carry those messages to their homes and ensuring every child sees school as a safe haven and every teacher can focus on teaching without the fear of violence. The group is working to deliver on this mission with efforts aligned against three pillars: Empathy Education from the Start, Provide Tools as They Grow, and Parent Education.