By VICTORIA PRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
The District Area 11 Rotary Clubs including those of Moapa Valley, Mesquite Sunrise, and Mesquite came together last week to present a very special holiday gift to the elementary schools in the Moapa and Virgin Valleys. On Friday, December 14, members of all three clubs got together to present a “Buddy Bench” at each school.
The Buddy Benches had the origin earlier this year. In September, Rotary’s District 5300 Governor, John Chase challenged Mesquite resident Keith Buchhalter, who is the Assistant Governor over District 11, to come up with a project that would be able to benefit the communities in the District’s area.
“I thought about it and finally came up with the idea for a Buddy Bench to be given to the elementary schools in the area,” Buchhalter said. “I wanted to see if the three clubs would agree to this type of project.”
The concept behind a Buddy Bench is that whenever a child feels sad or lonely, they can sit on the bench, Buchhalter explained. The child will not have long to wait because other children quickly notice someone is sitting there. They can come and play with them or sit and talk with them.
The three Rotary clubs raised funds over the past four months to be able to present the benches to area schools at this time of year. Each elementary school in northeastern Clark County received at least one Buddy Bench. The schools included Ute V. Perkins Elementary in Moapa, Grant M. Bowler Elementary in Logandale, Virgin Valley Elementary in Mesquite, and Joseph L. Bowler Elementary in Bunkerville.
“I am so thrilled to be a part of this project and it was amazing to see the children at Bowler and Perkins reaction,” Buchhalter stated. “They were screaming and jumping up and down as it if it was the best Christmas present ever.”
Buchhalter acknowledged that this project would not have happened without the help of the bench builder, Robyn Schaefermeyer and his assistant Jake. Robyn spends many loving hours making these benches, Buchhalter said.
Buchhalter wanted to thank the Rotary Club presidents: Dan Utgard of Moapa Valley, Debra Parsley of Mesquite Sunrise, and Kevin Boyer of Mesquite for all the time and effort put in to making this first of many joint projects that the District will be doing for their respective communities.
“Together, we are strong and we can see that we can make a difference in so many lives,” Buchhalter said.
