Bartow County girl builds benches to help students at her school make friends

BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. - Daisy Haley, a third grader in Bartow County, spent her summer building "Buddy Benches" for students at her school. 

A Buddy Bench, as the name suggests, is a bench for those who need a friend. 

"If there's somebody on the bench, then that means that they need a friend or that they need to talk about their problems," Daisy explained. 

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The 8-year-old has a love for those around and she wanted to pick a project that would reflect that. 

"Always be nice. Making friends won't just make the other person happy but it'll make you happy about doing something," Daisy said. 

Her mother, Miranda Haley said she asked her daughter to pick a passion project for the summer. 

Daisy watched a TED Talk on a child made a Buddy Bench and was inspired to do the same. Haley said she wasn't surprised that Daisy picked this project. 

"She always looks on the playground to find the kids that are being left out or look a little down. And she thought that this would help her identify children that needed a little extra love," Haley said. 

Daisy's vision came to life with the help of her grandfather, "Paw Paw". 

"My Paw Paw is actually a woodworker and I said 'hmm, since he's a woodworker it would be a good idea to build the bench with him,'" Daisy said.  

Daisy was involved in every step of the process and even learned a thing or two about tools along the way. 

"We cut the wood then we put it all together and we got to paint it our school colors," she said. "He showed me how to use all of these power tools like a nail gun, an electric screwdriver and a circular saw." 

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Summer has now wrapped up and so has most of the work. 

Daisy finished one bench and another is nearly complete. Both will be placed at the playgrounds at her school, White Elementary. The first will be installed Wednesday afternoon. 

"We hope that this inspires people to learn a new skill, this was great for her confidence and to do something that gives back to the community," Haley said. 

Daisy's plans for making the community a better place don't end here. 

"I really want to be a president and make rules that are good not just for the community but for the whole world, like no more littering," Daisy said.