EMMIE BOESE
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Sixth grader Kylee Smith who attends Graber Elementary, said the grey buddy bench on the school's playground is more than just a bench. Smith came up with an idea for a buddy bench to be installed at her school when she was in third grade.
Smith said the buddy bench serves as a symbol to help her and her peers feel seen by one another.
"It kind of makes me happy," Smith said. "Just knowing that you are not in alone, just kind of in shadows, and just be where people can see you, knowing that you are not alone and just want somebody to hang out."
The project was completed on Sept. 19, 2023 and was placed on the playground on Oct. 2, 2023. The cost of the bench was $700 and with some help from her mom and other adults in her life, Smith raised every single cent for the bench.
"It took a while to make, and it took a while just thinking of how to do it and where we were going to get the product from," Smith said.
Smith's idea for the bench stems from Girl Scouts. When she told her mom she wanted to build a bench, she said her mom realized it would fulfill her bronze award requirement and would be a good way to help people. A bronze award is earned when a girl scout completes a "Take Action" project based on observations of a local issue.
Principal of Graber Elementary, Jesse Ediger said when Smith presented her idea about the project, she had to find a balance of how much support to give and how much not to give. She said it was important that Smith felt it was "her project."
"She knows that's her bench and she's talked about that," Ediger said. "You know 20 years from now, she can drive by and she will see that bench here and that legacy that she leaves behind, that kids that aren't even here right now will be using that bench."
Ediger said she worked with Smith's mom on the details of the project which included types of fundraisers that work well with the school, the size of the bench and where to purchase it. But Smith was the one who continued to stick with it and remained resilient.
Smith donated a children's book to the school's library titled "Buddy Bench." The book's author is Patty Brozo and illustrated by Mike Deas. The plot line resembles Smith's idea for a bench. The children in the book convince their teacher to let them build a buddy bench after experiencing exclusion at school.
Ediger went around to each classroom at Graber to read "The Buddy Bench" to students. She said it was neat to hear students tell her they had already checked out the book.
"I wanted them to know and we talked about Kylee's story," Ediger said. "Just to instill that leadership of what one student can do, you can really change things and have that power. I think so often they think, I'm just a kid. You can do so much."
Smith said she's at the realization that it's important to have friends and connections when you are in school. She said she feels like it can help set you up for future success when you become an adult in the workforce.
She even had her friend Lily Browning help her place the bench on the playground to represent the importance of connection. Browning came to support her friend during the interview with Hutch Post.
"When we were placing it, it took a lot of work and a lot of people to help move it, and she is one of the people that helped and part of the idea, was her to just experience it with her being my friend," Smith said.
Graber Elementary is located at 1600 N. Cleveland St. in Hutchinson.
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