Student Alyssa Kessler of Atalaya Elementary School in Santa Fe requested help from Kiwanis for her Buddy Benches project. Courtesy/Kiwanis Club
KIWANIS News:
Did you ever have to start the school year at a new school? Or did your best school buddy move out of your shared school district? Those are hard times for kids, but thanks to a heartfelt request from Alyssa Kessler, a young Santa Fe student from Atalaya Elementary School, the Santa Fe Downtown Kiwanis Foundation is proud to share a special project created to make a significant impact on the lives of Santa Fe schoolchildren.
In the Atalaya schoolyard, Alyssa noticed children playing alone, and in particular, seeing a young boy playing by himself, so she went over and asked him to play with her. She believed children needed a designated space to make new friends, so she fundraised through bake sales and the sale of friendship bracelets she made. This allowed her to purchase two Buddy Benches for her fellow Atalaya students to use.
Alyssa’s desire to create a place in schoolyards for kids to share kindness and community struck a strong chord with our local Kiwanis Foundation, which honors the worldwide Kiwanis International mission: ¨to improve the world, one community and one child at a time.”.
As you may know, funds from the annual Burning of Zozobra are donated back to the youth of Santa Fe via service projects and grants to improve and enrich children’s lives.
Alyssa’s heartwarming story was shared with the Kiwanis Foundation by Kiwanis Club member Melissa Romero. And following a moving presentation by this young mover and shaker to the Foundation Board of Directors, SFDKF undertook an ambitious Buddy Bench project, spearheaded by Melissa, to provide all Santa Fe elementary school kids with a safe space to make friends when they feel alone.
And now, with the start of this new school year, 19 Santa Fe elementary schools have a Buddy Bench in place, funded by the historic 2024 Zozobra Centennial.
Thank you again, Alyssa Kessler –– you are an inspiration and living proof that, with a little help, kids can lift each other’s spirits up!
Courtesy photo