Vista Grande gets a new 'Buddy Bench' from the Rotary Club

RIO RANCHO — Vista Grande Elementary School got a brand new “Buddy Bench” installed in its playground area Thursday.

“The Rotary Club has provided our school with a Buddy Bench, and we are so excited. We hope that it provides a lot of friendships and leads to kids meeting new people. It is a great addition to our playground,” Vista Grande Elementary Principal Christine Prescott said.

The Buddy Bench was provided by the Rotary Club of Rio Rancho, and Rio Rancho Police Department officers were also in attendance to celebrate with some students.

“We were invited by our partners at the Rotary Club in Rio Rancho ... it’s the first one in the city,” RRPD Officer Victor Duran said.

A Buddy Bench — or friendship bench — is a seat in a school playground where a child can go if they want to talk with someone.

When a child sits at a Buddy Bench, other students and teachers will recognize that the student might need some help, comfort or support.

“The purpose of a Buddy Bench is, mostly for young elementary school students, if someone comes to school and maybe they are new and don’t have any friends, or maybe they are sad, or they have a problem, they just don’t feel right; they can sit on the bench. All the other kids have already been told, ‘If someone sits on the bench, it means they need a friend,’” said Earl Waid said, president-elect of Rotary Club of Rio Rancho.

The Rotary Club of Rio Rancho plans to install Buddy Benches at the three more elementary schools including Maggie Cordova and Joe Harris.

“This is just one of our projects. We are committed to helping the community,” Waid said.

Waid also mentioned that they have a tutoring program for elementary school kids called the Dick Hiller Tutoring Program.