South Pasadena High School junior Ashton Carless unveiled his Eagle Scout project, a “Buddy Bench” on which students can sit when they are feeling lonely, during an assembly at Monterey Hills on Friday, May 19. Introduced by fifth grade teacher Ron Millar, Carless described the bench to the audience of kids and teachers as “the place on your playground where you can find a friend and be a friend, an opportunity to be kind to others and receive kindness from others.”
If a kid is sitting on the “Buddy Bench,” other students know to include that kid, or to join on the bench. Carless included the Monterey Hills students in the project by constructing the bench according to a design that the students voted on. The bench has Monterey Hills printed on it in alternating letters of green and yellow, the school colors.
Carless was assisted in the process of building the bench by half a dozen friends and community members.
