Buddy Benches



The “A Bench for Caps Program,” also known as the “Buddy Bench Project,” spearheaded by Kiwanian Kevin Meyer, has made significant strides in reducing social isolation among children since its inception in the summer of 2019. This initiative provides a vital signal to peers when a child needs companionship by offering a dedicated bench for them to sit on.

By December 2021, every school in Loudon County had received a Buddy Bench, and the program is now expanding into Anderson, Blount, Knox, Monroe, and Roane counties, reaching beyond schools to include Boys and Girls Clubs and other organizations. We have partnered with other Kiwanis Clubs and continue to introduce this program initiative in other Kiwanis Clubs.

The program is environmentally conscious, repurposing non-recyclable plastic lids and bottle caps—collected from various community sources—into benches. Greentree Plastics in Evansville, Indiana, transforms 200 pounds of collected plastic into a single bench, preventing millions of pieces of plastic from reaching landfills.  

Since 2019, the program has produced 68 benches and 4 Ozark Hex Tables from roughly 15,200 pounds of non-recyclable plastic, showcasing an innovative approach to community building and environmental stewardship.

To-date that equates to over an incredible 1.5 million non-recyclable pieces of plastic caps and lips collected.

Our 2025 goal for this program is to produce 100 benches, with no doubt we will achieve this number.

Click on the picture below to download article on what are Acceptable Caps and Lids.





 





















Text