8-year-old Sammie had a great idea; to have a buddy bench installed in her school yard.

This idea could have been dismissed or forgotten.

Instead, she collaborated with her mom, did some research and brought the idea to her school principal.

That was the beginning of Sammie's Buddy Bench Project!

Listen to this episode to hear 14-year-old Sammie talk about:

- What is a Buddy Bench?

"If someone is lonely, they can go sit on the bench and others know to go up and ask them to play."

- How the idea of benches made out of recycled plastic came about

(her mom found out about GreenTree Plastics, an Evansville, Indiana company)

- How the Buddy Bench project is a "3-in-one" (it helps the environment; it encourages kindness; and it encourages collaboration)

- Why are some great ideas are ignored?

"I'm really thankful that I have people in my life that helped me make this project come to life."

- How rewarding and fulfilling it has been to work on the Buddy Bench Project

"It's insane. When I was 8 years old, I didn't think that I would be shipping Buddy Benches to Ghana. I didn't think I would be talking on the Today Show. ...it really is, I think, making a difference."