There are moments in life when all of us need a friend or a shoulder to lean on, none perhaps more important than in childhood.
Now, thanks to a partnership between Investec Bank (Channel Islands), Creative Learning in Prison Guernsey (CLIP Guernsey) and all the Island’s primary schools, no Island school child will need to feel sad or alone. Investec has donated 11 Buddy Benches to Island schools, which have been created by CLIP Guernsey.
The idea behind Buddy Benches is that when a child is upset or has nobody to play with, they sit on the bench and other children know to include them in whatever they are doing.
Mark Renouf, Head of Trust & Corporate Service Providers Guernsey at Investec said, “Our ethos has always been to live in the community, rather than live off it and this initiative meets our objective to support entrepreneurship, education and the environment. We have a long history of working with Island schools and we are really pleased to be involved with this scheme.”
Kim Hutchison, Headteacher at La Mare De Carteret Primary School said “We work very hard to create a community with empathy and caring at its heart. Buddy Benches are a very visual way of signalling that a member of our school community is feeling out of sorts, so that other children can come to their side and lift their spirits. And we can see it being put to good use! All of the Island primary schools will be grateful to Investec for these donations which will be a prominent addition to our play areas.”
The benches have been painted in a striking black and white design to reflect Investec’s iconic zebra logo and the school councils are introducing the benches to the children to make good use of them.
The main image shows La Mare De Carteret Primary School Head Teacher Kim Hutchison and the school children with Amy Le Prevost and Mark Renouf from Investec.
