The Healey School tot lot has an exciting new addition, The Buddy Bench. Thanks to a donation from The Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation and Ms. Conley’s facilitation of the process, students at the Healey School now have a beautiful resource to help them in fostering inclusion and friendships. Developed by a student named Christian, the Buddy Bench concept came from the idea of a designated place where students could sit if they were looking for someone else to play with, and where other students could go to invite someone to play. Christian worked with his principal to make his idea a reality and now schools around the world have added Buddy Benches to playgrounds.

The Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation was established by the parents of Joseph Middlemiss to honor the memory and spirit of their son. After losing their son to a cardiac condition, Joseph’s parents began a journey to honor their son by carrying out acts of kindness. Their journey eventually led to the establishment of The Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, to help them carry on “Joseph’s legacy of love.” The organization is dedicated to demonstrating the power of kindness through educational outreach, random acts of kindness, and support for patients and families on the cardiac floor of Boston Children’s Hospital.

Among the work that The Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation does is share what they’ve learned about the potential of kindness to change lives through “Creating a Ripple of Kindness” youth presentations. Earlier this month, Healey School students in Grades K-3 participated in a “Ripple of Kindness” presentation by Kate Middlemiss, Joseph’s mother, learning how a “kindness journey” can have a lasting impact and how the Buddy Bench helps in that journey. The presentation highlights the impact that individual choices can have on the larger community, and is designed to promote the core values of kindness, friendship, empathy, and inclusion. To learn more about The Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation, visit http://www.jmbigheart.org/.