Buddy Bench
“The benches help us achieve our mission of teaching kids kindness, empathy, the ability to listen to others, and give to others. We provide lesson plans and books for classrooms about the bench. At a high level, the students are taught that if you are feeling sad, not included, or just off, you can go sit on the bench. Students are also instructed that if they see anyone sitting on the bench to ask them to play, walk, or talk. Asking for help is not easy, I just learned to ask for help after Kevin died. If the bench can teach someone to ask for help.....AND receive help, that is pretty cool. Our hope is that if they are struggling later in life, they will find it easier to ask for help with their problems. The benches at the elementary school level are used this way. We also have benches at the middle schools, high schools, town parks, and area businesses. In this capacity they serve as a connection for town residents and as a reminder of checking in on your friends, being kind, and doing the right thing.”
— Jim Kuczo
“I am not a big post person, but sharing as I’d want to know this if I knew and loved Kevin.
My daughter came home today talking excitedly about the Kevin’s Afterglow buddy benches around town. She said now no one will ever be without a friend.
I asked her if she knew what they were named after and she said Kevin was a boy who was kind and friendly to all, always. She said whenever anyone was upset or alone, he would invite them to play or cheer them up.
She knows he died and that he left behind friends and family that shared wonderful things about him and loved him very much - that is his afterglow.
She knows the benches are a way of spreading that love and afterglow.
If I were Kevin's mom, I would want to know that some little girl somewhere was inspired by this and was talking about his wonderful life to her own mom, in their kitchen, over dinner.”
— Osborn Hill Parent