In 2013, a second-grader in York County, Pennsylvania, saw a bench in a brochure for a school in Germany and asked his principal if Roundtown Elementary could have one. The bench gave a lonely child a place to sit, and a signal that anyone nearby was welcome to come ask them to play.

A Bench From a Brochure

Christian Bucks was 8 and in second grade at Roundtown Elementary School when he came across the idea. KTAR, citing the York Daily Record, reported that he saw it in a brochure for a school in Germany. His family was researching schools in Germany at the time, according to a later ABC27 feature.

The idea was simple. A student who felt lonely or upset at recess could sit on the bench, and other students would see them and come over to ask if they wanted to play.

The Principal Said Yes

Christian took the idea to his principal, Matthew Miller, who backed it right away. According to coverage at the time, Christian helped design the school's bench.

The story spread fast. By early December 2013 it had run on HuffPost and been picked up by local news outlets, and KTAR noted that a school in England had also installed a buddy bench and its teachers said it was working.

Christian did not invent the concept. He brought it from a German school brochure to a Pennsylvania playground, and a principal who listened made it real.

A blue metal buddy bench lettered Friendships Grow on our Buddy Bench, empty, against a school wall — A buddy bench at McCornack Elementary School in Eugene, Oregon. Photo: Rick Obst, CC BY 2.0.

From One School to Thousands

In May 2025, ABC27 caught up with Christian, now 19. His mother, Alyson Bucks, estimated that buddy benches sit at about 15,000 schools in all 50 states and at least a dozen foreign countries. She said she stopped counting years ago, so the figure is the family's estimate rather than an official census.

Christian had just finished his freshman year at Florida Institute of Technology, where he is studying to become an airline pilot. He is already a private pilot.

Miller, who has since been named Pennsylvania's 2025 National Distinguished Principal, had a message for other educators: "Take the time to listen to the great ideas of little people."

What Happens at the Bench

The routine has not changed. A child who wants company sits down, and another child notices and walks over to ask them to play. At recess, kids in schools across the country still do it.

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