BLACKSBURG, Va – A small addition to a playground hopes to make a big impact on kids in the New River Valley.
To anyone passing by, the new buddy bench may just look like a standard bench outside Valley Interfaith Child Care Center in Blacksburg.
“We take the kids from six weeks old up until five and our mission is safety, loving learning,” Co-Founder Jeanne Roper said.
But to Earl Brown, the bench is much more than that.
“Anybody can have a bad day. No matter how strong they think they might be, they still could have a bad day,” said Board Member Earl Brown.
The buddy bench aims to bring children together who may be having a tough time looking for someone to play with.
“The other kids are educated to see who’s on the buddy bench, go to the buddy bench to say, ‘come and play with us,’ and to make friends with the person who is sitting on the buddy bench. The idea is that everybody’s to be included,” Roper said.
When the center had children paint the bench on Wednesday, they dedicated it to Brown and his significant other who recently passed away. Brown worked in a school for a majority of his life and has worked with the center for almost just as long. He said everything he does is for the children.
“Some people say they’re just a group of young individuals playing on the playground, but actually, they are a lot more than that. When I look at the playground, I see doctors, lawyers, policemen, nurses,” Brown said.
While the bench may look small, it encompasses all the values the center passes on to its students every day: acceptance, support and friendship.