When she was just 8, Sammie Vance pondered a question that seems far beyond her years: What breaks your heart?“For me, it’s seeing people who need a friend,” the seventh grader from Fort Wayne, Indiana, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “I’ve been lonely myself. I don’t want others to feel that way.“Soon after at summer Bible camp, she learned about buddy benches — a seat at a school playground where a lonely child may sit, signaling to other kids that they are in need of a friend.“I’m like, ‘This would be really cool to have at my school,’ " Sammie recalls.She spoke to her principal, shared the idea with the PTA, and then organized a community-wide event that collected 1,600 pounds of bottle caps, all recycled and repurposed to create three buddy benches at her elementary school.Sammie Vance.Heidi VanceCalledSammie’s Buddy Bench Project, her efforts have since helped get over 200 benches fashioned from bottle caps and donated to schools and parks across the country and in Mexico and Australia.“At the beginning of my project, I had absolutely no idea it would turn out anything like this,” she says. “It amazes me and keeps me motivated to know that it is impacting people outside of the country as well.“Sammie has also recently published a book,Inspire the World: A Kid’s Journey to Making a Difference, about her efforts to inspire other kids to give back.“She’s always had a really big heart,” says Sammie’s mom, Heidi Vance, 40. “In second grade, when there was a little girl who didn’t speak English in her class, Sammie came home and insisted on teaching herself Spanish so she could communicate with the girl.“Sammie Vance.Heidi VanceFor more of PEOPLE’sGirls Changing the World2021, pick up the latest issue, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.“And at that point, I really started to see her heart for other people,” Heidi continues, “and not wanting anybody to be left out.“The second of four children — Sammie has an older brother, 14, plus a younger brother, 10 and sister, 8 — the energetic pre-teen also spends her time producing a podcast from home calledSammieSmiles. She not only picks and then interviews guests via Zoom “who inspire me and who make me smile,” she says, but edits both the audio and video.Sammie’s next chapter will find her expanding the buddy benches and undertaking other kindness projects.“I just look forward to making a difference,” she says, “and inspiring other people to make a difference.”
When she was just 8, Sammie Vance pondered a question that seems far beyond her years: What breaks your heart?
“For me, it’s seeing people who need a friend,” the seventh grader from Fort Wayne, Indiana, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “I’ve been lonely myself. I don’t want others to feel that way.”
Soon after at summer Bible camp, she learned about buddy benches — a seat at a school playground where a lonely child may sit, signaling to other kids that they are in need of a friend.
“I’m like, ‘This would be really cool to have at my school,’ " Sammie recalls.
She spoke to her principal, shared the idea with the PTA, and then organized a community-wide event that collected 1,600 pounds of bottle caps, all recycled and repurposed to create three buddy benches at her elementary school.
Sammie Vance.Heidi Vance
CalledSammie’s Buddy Bench Project, her efforts have since helped get over 200 benches fashioned from bottle caps and donated to schools and parks across the country and in Mexico and Australia.
“At the beginning of my project, I had absolutely no idea it would turn out anything like this,” she says. “It amazes me and keeps me motivated to know that it is impacting people outside of the country as well.”
Sammie has also recently published a book,Inspire the World: A Kid’s Journey to Making a Difference, about her efforts to inspire other kids to give back.
“She’s always had a really big heart,” says Sammie’s mom, Heidi Vance, 40. “In second grade, when there was a little girl who didn’t speak English in her class, Sammie came home and insisted on teaching herself Spanish so she could communicate with the girl.”
For more of PEOPLE’sGirls Changing the World2021, pick up the latest issue, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.
“And at that point, I really started to see her heart for other people,” Heidi continues, “and not wanting anybody to be left out.”
The second of four children — Sammie has an older brother, 14, plus a younger brother, 10 and sister, 8 — the energetic pre-teen also spends her time producing a podcast from home calledSammieSmiles. She not only picks and then interviews guests via Zoom “who inspire me and who make me smile,” she says, but edits both the audio and video.
Sammie’s next chapter will find her expanding the buddy benches and undertaking other kindness projects.
“I just look forward to making a difference,” she says, “and inspiring other people to make a difference.”
source: people.com
