Binks Forest Elementary School Promotes Kindness By Installing A Buddy Bench
Buddy Ambassadors
After nearly a half-century in law enforcement, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Michael Gauger has seen more bullies than he cares to remember. “I know bullies,” Gauger told students at Wellington’s Binks Forest Elementary School in October. “I see people who bully [in the jail]. If you start bullying, and you are very young, and
you don’t change your ways, it gets worse.” Longtime residents of Wellington, Gauger and his wife Phyllis came to Binks Forest to present the school with a Buddy Bench they donated. It’s the 16th bench to be placed at a Palm Beach County school as part of the Buddy Ambassadors program, a joint initiative of Mental Health America of Palm
Beach County and local author Loverly Sheridan, who wrote the book Be a Buddy, Not a Bully. The Buddy Ambassadors program was designed around Sheridan’s book, which tells the story of bullies on a school bus on the first day of school. “Buddy Ambassadors lead by example,” Sheridan told the children during an assembly to dedicate the bench and
Phyllis and Michael Gauger, along with Buddy Ambassador Director Loverly Sheridan and Buddy Ambassadors at Binks Forest Elementary School. PHOTO BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN
wellington the magazine | december 2019
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