Natalie Moore is a former member of Troop 543 in the Girl Scouts of Colorado and received her Bronze Award in 2015.
Natalie chose the Buddy Bench project for her Bronze Award because she knew how hard it can be for some people to make friends.
The Buddy Bench is a brightly colored bench anyone can sit on if they feel like they could use a buddy. Maybe their friends are absent, they’re new to the school or they don’t want to play what their other friends are playing that day. Sitting on the bench lets other kids know that you could use a pal and they can go over to ask that person if they’d like to join in what they’re doing.
She was the only junior in her troop who completed her journey so Natalie did most of this project alone. A few girls from her troop helped her with a bake sale/yard sale fundraiser and almost her whole troop came to show support at the dedication at her school.
The project started in April when she talked to the principal to ask for permission to do the Buddy Bench. He thought it was a terrific idea and he let her put a donation can with a poster outside his office for kids and teachers who wanted to help. Friends and neighbors donated items and baked goods so she could have a fundraiser yard sale/bake sale in her neighborhood. She sat with her parents to research the best materials for an outdoor bench that she could afford. They helped Natalie purchase benches online and took her to the stores she had to go to for paint and other supplies. Her idea was to put in one bench but she was able to raise enough money to buy two!