I am delighted our plan for some Buddy Benches has been partially achieved. The Buddy Bench at Medway is complete, and the Buddy Benches for the Avery Hill and Greenwich campuses will be ready about Easter time.
The bench is for any staff or student who is having a rough time. The uncertainty of Covid; coursework deadlines; appraisals; homesickness; relationships; families and money worries can affect many people. The purpose of the bench is to sit down and have a chat, and possibly a biscuit, with someone for 10 minutes or so. Having a chat with somebody can be very therapeutic. Shona, Dan, Natalie and Diana did an excellent job of painting the bench, and colleagues in estates and facilities were also fundamental in getting approval for university furniture to be assigned to STAART, and painted in our colours. - Dr Melanie Thorley
The Medway Buddy Bench can be found by the side entrance of Pembroke for students and staff to use. There is a QR code on the bench for you to scan and take you to the STAART webpage for more information.
Helped by STAART ambassador Daniel Crockett and STAART graduate Shona Reid, the bench was painted and is ready to go on our Medway Campus. Daniel and Shona both shared about why they volunteered to help out.
I was more than happy to get involved with setting up the buddy benches as mental wellbeing is so important, especially at university and in the current situation when so many people may be isolated. Having the bench to enable people to have a friendly chat when they need it most is fantastic! – Shona Reid
The buddy bench provides a safe place for people to come when they are in need of a chat, conveniently right next to Starbucks as well! There's no situation that a cup of Joe and some kind words can't improve. – Daniel Crockett
Natalie Turner, Student Ambassador Manager said:
It was such a great day spending time with some Students Ambassadors and doing something good for our students, despite the amount of paint I managed to get all over me! We all have our bad days and talking is the key to help get through them. I will definitely be sitting on a buddy bench if I am struggling, and I will be looking out to support any staff or student who would like a 10-minute chat to help continue their day.
In the photo, standing up from left to right is Melanie Thorley - STAART manager, Joe Mahama who is the campus manager for Medway who provided the paints and suits.
Kneeling down from left to right is Shona Reid, Daniel Crockett, Natalie Turner and Diana Martin - Student Ambassador Administrator on her placement year.
In the coming months look out for our Buddy Benches at Greenwich within the grounds of Dreadnought and at Avery Hill, outside the Dome.
To ensure safeguarding, we request that anybody using the bench shows their UoG ID card to anybody at the table.
